Kerala fails to take lessons from Pullumedu tragedy

SANNIDHANAM: The recommendation of the Justice Hariharan Nair Commission on the 2011 Pullumedu stampede for installing battery-powered lights remains on paper after more than six years since the tragedy that killed 102 pilgrims. The commission had pointed out that it was essential for the 4-km stretch from Sannidhanam to Pullumedu to avoid the repeat of the tragedy. “It has some practical difficulty. What is possible is to install solar-powered lights. A three-member committee appointed to study the recommendations has submitted a report,” Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Padmakumar told DC.  He said the presence of elephant herds on the route impeded the installation of the battery powered lights.

Meanwhile, the construction wing of the TDB blames it on the forest department, to which the commission had left the job of implementing its recommendations.  “The land is under the custody of the forest department,” Sankaran Potty, chief engineer in charge of Sabarimala told DC. The commission had also found that the lack of lights and sufficient police personnel for crowd-control and reckless parking of vehicles where tens of thousands of pilgrims assembled caused the disaster.

The obstruction of a metallic chain of the forest department across the path was another reason. Makaravilakku is a ritual held in connection  with Sabarimala festival and lakhs of pilgrims assemble at Pullumedu  every year on January 14, a few kilometers away from Sannidhanam inside the forest, to witness the 'Makarajyothi'.