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Ayyappa pilgrims pray for their safety

George Iype in Sabarimala

January 15, 1999. Fifty-three devotees of lord Ayyappa were killed in a stampede during the famed Makara Vilakku festival at the Sabarimala temple. One year later, the memories of the tragedy are still fresh as devotees prepare to take the 8 km journey once again through thick forests to reach this Hindu pilgrimage centre.

"I lost my brother and brother-in-law in the stampede on the Makara Vilakku day. I have been a regular pilgrim to Sabarimala for the last 14 years. This year, I have come to pray for the souls of my lost family members," says 52-year old Narayan Murthy, who has come all the way from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

"I don't know how it all happened. We were standing on a hilltop. Suddenly there was a commotion and people began running helter-skelter. My brother and brother-in-law fell off the hillside to a depth of more than 30 feet. I was caught in the stampede and the next thing I remember is that I was lying on a hospital bed,'' Murthy said.

"I am still a devotee of lord Ayyappa. But I don't have any faith in the arrangements that the authorities offer," he insists.

Hundreds of Ayyappa devotees who throng Sabarimala every year have similar complaints.

Authorities on their part offer a number of reasons why and how the stampede took place Last year. One theory is that a broken electrical wire frightened pilgrims who rushed downhill, causing a landslide.

Police claim the accident occurred when a coconut heap on which many pilgrims were standing caved in.

Whatever be the reason, one thing is certain: Sabrimala is not equipped to handle the large crowds that arrive here during the winter season.

Last season some 50 million pilgrims visited the holy shrine. This year, Sabarimala is expected to receive close to 80 million pilgrims.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, the apex religious body that manages Sabarimala, continues to turn a deaf ears to warnings.

Environmentalists and experts insist that the main cause of tragedies like the one that occurred last year was the unscientific development work that is on throughout the trekking paths in the Sabarimala forests.

According to environmentalist Sarat Chandran, the extensive concretising of the forest land has threatened the sustainability of the soil system. "This leads to land slips and cave-ins. The Devaswom management has neglected environmental precautions that we have been advocating," Chandran pointed out.

A recent study conducted by a group of environmentalists led by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad had also warned that concretising of forest land was "dangerous and risky."

According to the study, the distributive water percolation system is absent in the immediate vicinity of the Sabarimala temple because of extensive concrete flooring. "The entire waste water that accumulates on the concrete surface percolates at certain points and leads to enhanced sub-surface flow resulting in land sliding."

Another report prepared by a Kerala State Assembly panel recommended that any further development at Sabarimala should be based on a collective study by a committee consisting of terrain value experts from the Centre for Earth Science Studies and the Kerala Forest Research Institute.

But TDB has disregarded all these environmental studies.

Before the commencement of the ongoing Sabarimala season, the TDB spent more than Rs 1 crore to concrete a four-kilometre stretch of the trekking path and five acres of land in Pampa.

TDB has also proposed to erect a number of multi-storied buildings at the Sannidhanam soon after this year's season.

TDB officials claim the warnings from experts have nothing to do with the ground reality. "For instance, we have scientific proof that the massive slump on many stretches along the Chandranandan road to Sabarimala has nothing to do with concretising of roads," a senior TDB official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

"Environmentalists are fighting for their publicity. We are taking all precautions to ensure that the devotees who come here are provided with all modern amenities," he said.

As the tug of war between environmentalists and TDB officials continue, what has alarmed the devotees is dangerous landslips on the two roads - Chandranandan and Swamy Ayyappa roads - to Sabarimala.

Due to landslips, the width of the Chandranandan road has been reduced to one third of its original size at several points.

"Some stretches of the road are risky. We pray to Swamy Ayyappa for our safety while negotiating these stretches,'' said Mohan Prakash, a regular Sabarimala pilgrim.

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