Government doctors and medical professionals describe Sabarimala shrine as a ticking time-bomb which may explode anytime causing pandemic diseases like cholera, typhoid, jaundice and chicken pox. “This is because the entire network of sanitation, sewage system, toilets and other basic amenities have gone haywire in the holy shrine and nearby areas,” said a medical doctor who did not want his name to be quoted for fear of reprisal from the authorities.
There is a drastic fall in the number of devotees undertaking the pilgrimage this year because of the uncertainties and tense atmosphere prevailing at Sabarimala. “Usually, there will be 600 devotees packing their Irumudykettu (the sacred bag in which offerings to deity are packed under the supervision of a priest) from our temple every day. This time the number has not crossed the 200 mark,” K Ashok, executive committee member, Mahalingapuram Ayyappa Temple at Chennai, told The Pioneer. He said the tense situation at the Sabarimala has frightened the devotees.
Scathing attack on the CPI-M came from Amit Shah, the BJP chief who reminded Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of the repercussions created by the Stalinist policies of the Communist parties . “The way Pinarayi Vijayan’s Govt is handling the sensitive issue of Sabarimala is disappointing. Kerala police is treating young girls, mothers and aged inhumanly, forcing them to take the arduous pilgrimage, without even basic facilities like food, water, shelter & clean toilets,” tweeted the BJP national president on Tuesday.
Responding to reports about police high handedness at Sabarimala, Shah said: “If several reports of flushing resting places for devotees and then having to spend nights next to pig droppings & dustbin are true, then Pinarayi Vijayan must realize that he can’t treat Ayyappa devotees like inmates of Gulag. We won't let LDF crush people's faith with impunity.”
The charge by Chief Minister Vijayan that the “trouble makers” (those reciting hymns and songs) at Sabarimala were RSS and BJP “criminals” was shattered when the rally by the UDF leaders led by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at Sabarimala echoed with hymns and songs praising Lord Ayyappa sing by devotees as well as the UDF leaders. PS Sreedharan Pillai, kerala chief of the BJP told reporters that his party would stand by the devotees irrespective of the issues for which they are agitating.
“The CPI-M Government has a hidden agenda over the Ayyappa temple as well as other places of worship. We will not allow their evil designs to seize places of worship,” said Pillai. V Muraleedharan and Nalin Kattil, Members of Marliament, visited the shrine on Tuesday and found to their astonishment the thoroughly inefficient basic amenities at Sabarimala. “The Kerala Government has banned devotees from reciting Ayyappa slogas and hymns. How is it possible to complete the pilgrimage without reciting the devotional songs and hymns?” asked Muraleedharan.