A deafening silence greets those who reached Pulmedu on the eve of Makaravilakku this year, as a reminder of last year’s stampede that claimed 102 pilgrims.
The crowded places of last season wore a deserted look this time around as the number of pilgrims, shops and vehicles came down sharply.
Among the few shops allowed to set up this time was the one by Mr P. Gurudas, a witness to last year’s tragedy.
“The Devaswom Board or the forest department officials did nothing to commemorate those who lost life here. At the least they could have erected a stone mark at the site.
The cries…the vain bid to get off the ground, the search for the dear and near...all are fresh in my mind,” an emotional Gurudas, who could not find his last year’s fellow shop owners this time, said.
The 52-year-old, who runs the shop at the site during the festival season for the last 12 years, however consoled himself.
“Even the relatives of the dead find solace in the fact that the dead ones lost their lives at a holy place and at a holy time and that their souls would be blessed.”
There is, however, hardly any business for Mr Gurudas and his fellow shopkeepers this time as the restrictions placed by the authorities and the fear mania turned many pilgrims away from the route.
“During last year’s Makaravilakku, the place was so crowded that there was not an inch of space left here. This time, I have only five Ayyappas as guests so far.
It’s not just the business, I’m sad that I couldn’t do anything to serve Ayyappa devotees,” Mr Gurudas, who used to arrange space for maximum number of pilgrims on the shop premises, said.
