Thanks to Infighting, No water in Pamba for Sabarimala fest

No water in Pamba for Sabarimala fest

Source: Pioneer News Service | Pathanamthitta

The holy river Pamba is dried up and there is hardly any water as the Sabarimala temple festival is in progress .A dip in river Pampa is considered holy for the devotees of Lord Ayyappa during their pilgrimage to the hill shrine.

The temple is open for the annual festival and the arattu festival is scheduled on March 20th .

As the members and president of Travancore Dewaswom board are fighting against each other ,the board has not taken a decision or communicated with either the electricity board or the water authority regarding opening the shutters of the dams for raising water in the holy river .

Presently there is no trace of a river left in Pampa and all that is left is dried up land .There are even some weeds which are growing in the river bank and people are walking over the banks and children can easily play a game of football or for that matter any outdoor game in the Pampa river.

The only solution to the water crisis is to open the shutters of the Sabarigiri project and as mentioned earlier the board owing to the acute infighting has not taken any decision in this regard .This shows that the Travancore dewaswom board and the members have scant regard for the Sabarimala temple and its customs and practices .The devotees who are reaching the hill shrine for a glimpse of the lord are also disappointed over the drying up of Pamba which is a part and parcel of the Sabarimala pilgrimage.

However a directive is given to the KSEB to open its shutters for the Sabarimala arattu festival .The Kerala water authority is also directed to construct bunds using sand bags to block the water opened out .This means that there would be some water in the holy river for the arattu.

This was decided upon in a meeting convened by the Additional chief secretary K.Jayakumar .The meeting also decided upon to clear the sand deposits in Pampa river before the commencement of the Vishu festival in the temple.