The Kerala high court has ruled that no food item other than Kanji and necessary side dishes be provided at Sabarimala and its premises during the Sabarimala pilgrimage and monthly poojas. It also asked the government to come up with its view.
Provisions for any type of food other than Kanji should not be sold in Sabarimala in the course of the Sabarimala pilgrimage, it said.
A division bench of Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order stressing the importance of a pollution-free Sannidhanam.
The court also sought the state’s stand on the issue and asked the government to file statements immediately.
The court added that such a practice would be in harmony with the peaceful conduct of the pilgrimage, the hallmarks of which are sacrifice and self-denial.
“It is high time we reduce the commercialisation and excessive consumerism in the matter of food intake," the court held.
This, it said, would also result in a reduction in the accumulation of waste in the Sannidhanam, Pampa and Erumely areas.
The court also asked the high-power committee and the Travancore Devaswom Board to find ways and means to provide drinking water, other than by plastic bottles.
The court said the state also should consider developing an alternative mechanism to provide quality drinking water.