Missionary-Bureocracy-Communist nexus destabilising Sabarimala

Arrangements for Sabarimala season yet to begin

Pioneer News Service | Pathanamthitta

With the arrival of Sabarimala season, several devotees have started reaching Pathanamthitta and other parts of the State from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka. While the Devaswom Board is making tall claims of having made all the necessary arrangements for the season, in actual terms nothing has been done so far. Even the preparation of Aravana and Appam have not been finalised yet. The Travancore Devaswom Board is in its worst crisis with the president and members not seeing eye to eye creating problems to the devotees who have to travel long distances through dense forests to have a glimpse of the Lord.

Devaswom Minister G Sudhakaran has on the other day lambasted the Devaswom Board but nothing positive has come up on his outrage with a caucus of officers of the TDB and the members taking the temple and the devotees for a ride.

Another major factor is the failure of the Government to do anything for the roads of the area with the PWD in the dark as to when the maintenance of the roads would be completed. There is a general feeling that certain vested interests are working over time to gradually destabilise the Sabarimala temple.

It may be recalled that there are certain officials who are in close association with some organisations trying to play havoc at Sabarimala, the temple which earns the reputation of the highest number of pilgrims visited in a year next to Thirupathy in south.

Hindu activists are of the opinion that the negligence on the part of the Government and the TDB is a planned move and the PWD Minister, it seems, is not bothered at the fall out and the ramifications it would have in the minds of the devotees.

In a meet the Press programme at the Kottayam Press Club, the Minister was more interested in responding to the repair and maintenance of MC Road and the discussions he and his Cabinet colleagues had with the officials of the Malaysian company, Pathiben.

Regarding Sabarimala, the Minister was clueless and the Hindu organisations are of the opinion that there is something lacking on the part of the LDF Government when the issue of Sabarimala comes up.

There are already complaints of the estates of Laha and other private estates now under the custody of a Thiruvalla based gospel preacher and the Hindu organisations have complained to the Government on the antecedents of this person and his interests in purchasing an estate close to Sabarimala.

The Government, according to Hindu organisations, is either in a concerted effort to marginalise the importance of Sabarimala or has lost grip in running the massive temple which is frequented by lakhs of devotees every year.

The approach roads to Sabarimala are all in a dilapidated state and the PWD, which should have completed the work before September, has not done anything concrete. There are already complaints that the Opposition is also not much interested in the affairs of the temple and that leader of the Opposition Oomen Chandy has not done anything substantial to raise this issue.