Chief minister V D Satheesan, smashes a coconut at Sabaripeedom while proceeding to Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Saturday
Kottayam: As part of the efforts to develop Sabarimala into the best pilgrimage centre in the country, facilities akin to Tirupati temple will be put in place for devotees at the hill shrine once this year’s pilgrimage season ends, chief minister V D Satheesan said on Saturday.
For smooth darshan and security, police and fire force personnel will be deployed under the chiefs of the respective forces, he said. The CM said all facilities will be provided this season to ensure devotees have hassle-free darshan. Speaking after a review and coordination meeting of various departments at Pamba to assess arrangements and preparedness for the Mandala–Makaravilakku pilgrimage, the CM noted that offerings and prasad are under Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) control, and that the board president has assured that there would be no shortage of items like appam and aravana this year. Those who participated in he meeting included devaswom minister K Muraleedharan; ministers Sunny Joseph, A P Anilkumar, P C Vishnunadh, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, C P John and M Liju; MPs Anto Antony and Kodikunnil Suresh; MLAs Pazhakulam Madhu, Abin Varkey, C V Shanthakumar, Varghese Mammen, K U Janeesh Kumar, M J Sebastian, Cyriac Thomas and Rony K Baby; devaswom secretary M G Rajamanickam; state police chief Ravada Chandrasekhar and TDB president K Jayakumar along with public representatives, heads of local self-govt bodies, departmental secretaries and officials.