With a week left for season, TDB makes elaborate arrangements at Sabarimala

With just a week remaining for the two-month-long annual pilgrimage season at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has made elaborate arrangements to ensure a smooth and safe conduct of the event.

According to P.S. Prashanth, the outgoing president of the TDB, a comprehensive accident insurance scheme has been implemented for devotees visiting the hill shrine. Previously limited to four districts, the coverage of this scheme has now been extended Statewide.

In the event of a devotee’s death, the nominee or legal heir will receive ₹5 lakh as insurance. In addition, the Board will bear ambulance costs of up to ₹1 lakh for incidents outside the State and ₹30,000 for those within the State.

“The scheme has also been extended to include TDB staff on duty at Sabarimala, Pampa, and Nilackal, temporary employees, and other government personnel working at these sites. The entire premium for the scheme is borne by the Board,” he said

The Board has further decided to create a corpus fund to provide ₹3 lakh compensation to the families of devotees who die of a heart attack while climbing the Pampa–Sannidhanam route or along the forest trek from Erumely. Ambulance costs of up to ₹1 lakh for outside the State and ₹30,000 for within the State will also be covered.

Voluntary contribution of ₹5

To fund this initiative, a voluntary contribution of ₹5 will be collected from devotees at the time of virtual queue booking. This fund has been established following a High Court order regarding the Pullumedu stampede tragedy, Mr. Prashanth added.

Utility boards have been set up to provide additional information, and fragrance dispensers have been installed at various points along the trekking path.

The Board has arranged 1,005 toilets at Sannidhanam, in addition to 164 toilets in the queue complexes. Along the trekking path from Pampa to the sanctum, 58 bio-toilet units have been installed. On the Pampa–Sannidhanam stretch, four large container-type toilet blocks, each housing eight urinals, have been set up.

15 Emergency Medical Centres have been opened at key points along the trekking path to provide immediate medical care.

To tackle labour exploitation

“In the past, cleaning and maintenance of toilets and other hygiene facilities were carried out through labor contracts. Recognising that his leads to labour exploitation, the Board has now directly employed 420 temporary workers for these duties,’’ Mr. Prashanth said .

At Sannidhanam, 546 rooms have been arranged across various buildings to accommodate devotees, including 56 fully renovated rooms in the Sabari guest houses for enhanced comfort.

At Pampa, 300 toilets, including 70 permanent units, have been set up. Ten new encampments and a German-style tent have been installed, providing space for 4,000 people at a time.

At Nilackal, four buildings have been completed to accommodate devotees, and five new resting areas have been set up, collectively providing space for around 5,000 people. Additional parking has been arranged for 2,000 vehicles, bringing total parking capacity to over 10,000 vehicles.

Through the KIIFB, the Board has also received ₹123 crore for various infrastructure works at Sabarimala, ensuring continued development and safety improvements for pilgrims.