Kerala for Sabarimala as national pilgrim centre

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government will submit a 15-point representation to the centre for developing Sabarimala as a national pilgrimage centre. Allocation of 500 acres of land from Periyar Tiger Reserve and construction of monorail from Nilackal to Pampa are among the demands.

A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Wednesday also decided to seek financial assistance of Rs 1,250 crore for Sabarimala master plan works. The representation would be given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Considering a demand from officials of neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, state government decided to open control rooms in Ernakulam, Kottayam and Chengannur. These control rooms would be linked to those to be opened in four states.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told reporters after the meeting that stern action would be taken against traders at Sabarimala who charge exorbitant rates from pilgrims. The meeting also decided to ensure coordination of all the states in disaster management activities.

The 15-point demands also seeks financial assistance for Nilackal base camp development, nod for the second-phase action plan for Pampa cleaning, inclusion of Sabarimala in the centre’s Pilgrim Rejuvenation Spiritual Augmentation and Development programme and in the scheme for the pilgrim tourism centre, setting up of additional facilities in Nilackal, introduction of safety and rescue plans for Sabarimala under the national disaster management, financial assistance for multi-purpose hospital, implementation of Sabari rail project and allocation of Rs 750 crore for development of roads leading to Sabarimala.

The meeting was attended by senior government and devaswom officials. The Home Minister also held a meeting with top police officials to review the security arrangements at Sabarimala.