Sabarimala national status a riddle'

SANNIDHANAM: Though politicians, including chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, were making a pitch for a national pilgrim centre status for Sabarimala, neither the government nor the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has any idea about its process. Devaswom principal secretary K.R. Jyothilal admitted this to DC on Saturday, saying he was not familiar with it. K. Jayakumar, former chairman of the high power committee for the Sabarimala Master Plan, said there was no legislation for elevating the hill shrine as a national pilgrim centre as such.

"Moreover, there are apprehensions about the Union government having a say in the temple affairs," he told DC. TDB president A. Padmakumar too echoed the general view.  "We have to conduct a study on the issue. So far, no temple in the state had a similar recognition, and I have no idea about others," he told DC. However, his predecessor Prayar Gopalakrishnan believes it might fetch the central funding to the tune of Rs 500 crore for infrastructure facilities including an airport, railway line and national highway.  But he too is not aware of the process, or if there was a precedent.

However, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekaran said no temples or shrines enjoyed such status so far. "It needs legislation to formulate norms," he told DC. At a meeting of ministers of southern states on the annual pilgrimage last month, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also requested the central government to declare the temple as a national pilgrim centre. Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran said Venkateswara temple at Tirumala near Tirupati is a national pilgrim centre, but he too is not aware of norms.  "The CM raised the demand considering the importance of Sabarimala and the inflow of pilgrims," he told DC.