Jail for discarding old clothes in Pampa river

In a communication to gurusamies and devotees, Special Commissioner and District Judge K. Babu said devotees were following the practice for decades.

He pointed out that in an order dated October 16, 2015, the Kerala high court had observed that there was absolutely no practice or usage or religious tenet whatsoever, which advise a that a person after having Dharsan of Sabarimalaa Sree Dharma Sastha should discard the clothes and other belongings worn or carried to Sabarimala as a pilgrim.

Therefore, discarding of clothes or any other materials, including personal belongings, whether bio-degradable or not into the waters of Pampa by any person was violation of provisions of Water Act and would therefore it was sufficient to consider initiating prosecution for violation of provisions of Water Act, the court held.

When such prosecution results in conviction, the accused would not have any go but suffer the minimum mandatory sentence of imprisonment for 18 months. It also ordered that any person who does any act that results in polluting river Pampa, could be treated as abettors liable to be punished.

Sabarimala, an abode of Lord Ayappan temple, is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world and attracts an estimated five crore devotees from various states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The Sabarimala pilgrimage is set to commence on November 16.