Sabarimala is all set for a 10-day annual festival. The shrine will be opened on Monday by Thanthri Kandararu Maheswararu accompanied by Melsanthi Balamurali.
The flag hoisting ceremony, to mark the commencement of the annual festival, will be held on Tuesday at 9 am. The temple will remain open till April 5.
“Volunteers will clean the Pamba River and the whole stretch from Pamba to Sabarimala on Sunday. There will be 200 volunteers from Mata Amritananda Mayi Mutt along with other volunteers who will take part in the cleaning programme,” M. Satheesh Kumar, executive officer, Sabarimala told Deccan Chronicle.
The drought-affected Pamba River base is filled with mud, abandoned clothes and human waste that has been drained from latrine complexes. The river will be cleaned before Monday to ensure that pilgrimages have a hygienic and holy dip.
The Kerala Water Authority is also waiting for the opening up of the Kullar dam so that tankers can be organised to serve pilgrims with drinking water.
The concerned departments have been alerted by the district collector of Pathanamthitta, P. Venugopal so that the various arrangements are complete before Monday.
The police force will be deployed in five sectors and the health department will deploy the necessary number of doctors and other staff and will maintain oxygen parlours at various points along the Pamba-Sabarimala stretch.
Two cardiac centres in Appachi Medu and Neelimala will function during the festival season. KSRTC will run services from its various depots to facilitate pilgrims attending the festival.