'Unrestricted vehicle entry contributed to Sabarimala stampede'
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Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Forest Department is of the view that unrestricted entry of vehicles for ferrying pilgrims into the Pullumedu trekking path was one of the factors that paved the way for the January 14 stampede that claimed the lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims.
The report drawn up by the Forest Department on the tragedy cited that its earlier warnings to regulate vehicles like jeeps and autorickshaws had been largely ignored by the Travancore Devaswom Board and other agencies, Department sources said.
The TDB manages the hill shrine.
Flow of pilgrims through Uppupara on the Pullumedu route during the peak pilgrimage season from mid November to January 14 has been a comparatively recent phenomenon.
Earlier, pilgrims coming through that area used to proceed from Vallakkaddavu through small estate roads to Sathram, about 10 km from Vandiperiyar, and then to the shrine through the Poonkavanam forests, sources said.
The Uppupara route was closed in 2001 on the ground that the large flow of people and vehicles could cause disturbance to wildlife including the endangered Nilgiris Thar.
It was then suggested that Sathram area should be developed as an alternative base camp for the pilgrims, where the TDB has around 20 acres at its disposal.
However, this suggestion had been ignored and the route temporarily opened during the season under pressure from Devaswom Board, local politicians and vehicle operators, sources said.
By modest estimates, as many as 7,000 vehicles pass through the area during the peak pilgrimage season every year. Despite pressures and constraints, the Forest Department had been implementing a Pilgrim Management Plan for the last 10 years, sources said.
The department also rubbished claims that a chain put across the path was one of the reasons for the mishap.
The sources said barricades to check the incursion of vehicles into forests had been put up in such a manner that they would not cause any obstruction to the trekking pilgrims.
Meanwhile, the Field Director of Periyar Tiger Reserve, under which the shrine and the adjoining areas come, had also drawn up a report to be submitted to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
"Based on the information collected from the field, we have prepared a primary report on the stampede citing similar reasons as factors contributing to the tragedy," a senior PTR official said.
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