Sabari master plan: Kerala seeks Rs 150 crore from neighbours

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With the infrastructure trust fund that was formed to finance the Sabarimala master plan drawing a blank, the Kerala government now hopes to raise a whopping Rs 150 crore as sponsorships and donations mainly from the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

"We will hold a meeting in Hyderabad on February 8 where we will try to get the maximum number of sponsorship commitments from devotees and voluntary organisations.

A similar meeting will be held in Chennai after that followed by one in Malaysia, where many people have volunteered," said K. Jayakumar, additional chief secretary and chairman of the high powered committee for the implementation of the Sabarimala master plan.

Meanwhile, to make devotees from other states aware of the changes being implemented at the temple, respective governments will, in about a week, start advertising locally, the official said. "We have reached an understanding with them on the matter."

Authorities are making special efforts to put stringent security measures in place to avoid mishaps like the last year's Pulmedu tragedy.

"The slogan for this year's pilgrim season will be 'Apakadarahitam, Malinyarahitam, hooshanarahitam' (Free of accidents, waste and exploitation)."

The government has also prepared a draft safety manual which has been distributed to various agencies like the police and fire force.

Amenities like light, water, the erection of barricades and ambulance services have also been made available in "possible danger spots" like Panchalimedu and Parunthenpara.

"There was a request for the deployment of 3,000 more police personnel in satellite locations like Erumeli. This has, in principle, been allowed and selection to the rank of special officers is on," Jayakumar said.

He said that the government would take up five key projects included in the master plan, soon after the pilgrimage season was over.

These include the Rs 19-crore Nilakkal development project, the Rs 27-crore project to double the capacity of 'Valiyanadapandal' to 40,000 devotees (to be done by L&T), the Rs 15-crore turn-key project to design and set up prasadam manufacturing plants in Malikapuram, the Rs 12 crore ropeway project and the Rs 30 crore plan to set up a sewage treatment plant.