Government would exert more pressure and be more determined in its demand to the Centre to get the famed Sabarimala temple declared a national pilgrim centre, says Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday.
Vijayan, who is on his maiden visit to Sabarimala, said the Centre had not accepted Kerala’s demand even though the temple had all the features of a national pilgrim centre.
Quoting Travancore Devaswom Board President Prayar Gopalakrishnan, he said that besides devotees from India, people from 33 nations visit the temple during the annual pilgrimage season.
“This shows Sabarimala has grown even bigger than a national pilgrim centre,” he told reporters after reviewing arrangements for the three-month ‘Mandalam-Makaravilakku’ pilgrimage season of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of the hill shrine.
The season begins on November 16.
He said the state government was in the process of completing all necessary steps to construct an airport at Erumely, near Pamba, on the foothills of Sabarimala. The airport would improve connectivity to the temple, located in the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats.
Post Your Comments