Thiruvananthapuram | Preparations for the upcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage season will be completed by October 31, TDB president K Jayakumar said on Thursday.
Addressing reporters here, Jayakumar said the Travancore Devaswom Board would provide weekly updates on preparations to Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan.
He said new arrangements were being made at Nilakkal to regulate the flow of pilgrims, including the installation of Artificial Intelligence-enabled cameras.
"The arrangements for all important matters have been completed. I will address them one by one. Before the meeting started today, decisions were made regarding certain new matters; it might be said that it was a bit delayed. The delay was only natural," Jayakumar said.
He said the police would spend nearly Rs 5 crore on arrangements for crowd control and regulating the movement of pilgrims.
"The police themselves are spending their own funds-nearly 5 crore rupees-and moving forward with certain arrangements and restrictions to control and regulate the flow of pilgrims. That project is commencing now. Its main hub will be at Nilakkal," he said.
Jayakumar said the existing parking arrangements at Nilakkal would be modified, with 26 parking lots being converted into 13 groups, each with designated entry and exit points and AI cameras.
A large AI-enabled control room would be set up at Nilakkal to monitor vehicle parking and the movement of pilgrims, he said.
He said the existing shed at Nilakkal, which has a seating capacity of around 12,000 people, would be modified to accommodate at least 60,000 pilgrims.
A liaison officer from the Devaswom Board would be assigned to the police and health departments to help resolve issues during the pilgrimage season, he said.
AI cameras would be installed at Sannidhanam and Pamba to regulate the movement of pilgrims, he added.
Regarding civil works, Jayakumar said tender procedures for most major works had been completed, and 48 works worth Rs 13.5 crore had been tendered.
Works worth Rs 6 crore have already commenced, while the remaining works would begin shortly, he said.
For electrical works, the Board is spending Rs 6.75 crore, of which works worth Rs 2.25 crore have commenced, he said.
Re-tendering for works that received single bids would be held on September 29, and the Board has set October 31 as the deadline for completing all works, he said.
The Board has constituted a four-member Quality Assurance Team comprising engineers to inspect the works every week and ensure compliance with tender conditions and quality standards.
On Aravana production, Jayakumar said the existing production capacity of 2.6 lakh tins per day would be increased to 3.6 lakh tins following the ongoing modernisation of the plant.
Aravana Payasam, a sweet dish made from red rice, jaggery and ghee, is a traditional temple prasadam, or sacred offering, particularly at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.
The modernisation comprises six new dishes, two cooling chambers, two boilers and other facilities to improve production, quality and food safety, he said.
Jayakumar said production at the existing capacity of 2.6 lakh tins would resume from October 10 after the completion of repair and food safety compliance works.
"We will face the Thulam month pooja with a buffer stock of 8 lakh tins. If the plant operates continuously, we will still have 17 lakh tins before October 31," he said.
Once the upgraded plant becomes fully operational by October 31, it will produce 3.6 lakh tins daily, he said, adding that a buffer stock of 75 lakh tins would be available when the temple opens on November 16.
"There will be no shortage of Aravana for the Thulam month pooja under any circumstances. As the saying goes, 'Once bitten, twice shy'; I can assure you that there will be no further shortage of Aravana," Jayakumar said.
He said there was currently no shortage of jaggery required for prasadam and that sufficient stocks had already been procured.
The tender process for jaggery supply was expected to be completed by October 5, after which supplies would begin, he said.
Similarly, the contract for lid supply would be signed before October 5, while contracts for items such as dried ginger would be finalised by October 15, Jayakumar said.
He said e-auctioning of shops would be completed soon.
On digitisation, Jayakumar said the Board was working to introduce digital payments at Sabarimala for room bookings and other transactions.
"We have a team working on it. Once that is implemented, people will notice a big difference," he said.
The Board has permitted around seven or eight banks to set up digital payment kiosks at Sabarimala, he said.
He said the Board would give greater attention to the quality and production of prasadam during the pilgrimage season.
"Our responsibility is to present and prepare a joyful pilgrimage season for the visiting pilgrims, and we are working on that," he said.
