Sabarimala works to finish by October 31 with AI crowd control at Nilakkal

Preparations for the upcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage season will be completed by October 31, Travancore Devaswom Board president K Jayakumar said on Thursday. He said the Board would give weekly updates on the work to Chief Minister VD Satheesan and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan, while new arrangements were being put in place at Nilakkal to regulate the flow of pilgrims, including AI-enabled cameras.

Jayakumar said major civil, electrical and crowd-management works were under way, and the Board was also focusing on Aravana production, digital payments and pilgrim facilities before the temple opens for the season. He said the aim was to ensure smooth pilgrim movement and adequate prasadam supply during the season.

Addressing reporters, Jayakumar said, "The arrangements for all important matters have been completed. I will address them one by one. Before the meeting started today, decisions were made regarding certain new matters; it might be said that it was a bit delayed. The delay was only natural."

He said the police would spend nearly Rs 5 crore on crowd control and pilgrim movement arrangements. "The police themselves are spending their own funds-nearly 5 crore rupees-and moving forward with certain arrangements and restrictions to control and regulate the flow of pilgrims. That project is commencing now. Its main hub will be at Nilakkal," he said.

At Nilakkal, the existing parking system will be changed by converting 26 parking lots into 13 groups, each with separate entry and exit points and AI cameras.

A large AI-enabled control room will be set up there to monitor vehicle parking and pilgrim movement. Jayakumar said the existing shed at Nilakkal, which can seat about 12,000 people, would be modified to accommodate at least 60,000 pilgrims.

A liaison officer from the Devaswom Board will also be assigned to the police and health departments during the pilgrimage season to help resolve issues. AI cameras will also be installed at Sannidhanam and Pamba to regulate pilgrim movement.

On infrastructure works, Jayakumar said tender procedures for most major civil works had been completed, with 48 works worth Rs 13.5 crore already tendered. Works worth Rs 6 crore have begun, while the rest will start shortly.

For electrical works, the Board is spending Rs 6.75 crore, of which works worth Rs 2.25 crore have commenced. Re-tendering for works that received single bids will be held on September 29, and all works have to be completed by October 31.

He said a four-member Quality Assurance Team of engineers had been formed to inspect the works every week and ensure compliance with tender conditions and quality standards.

On Aravana production, Jayakumar said the present capacity of 2.6 lakh tins a day would be raised to 3.6 lakh tins through the ongoing modernisation of the plant. Aravana Payasam, a sweet dish made from red rice, jaggery and ghee, is a traditional temple prasadam at Sabarimala.

He said the modernisation included six new dishes, two cooling chambers, two boilers and other facilities to improve production, quality and food safety. Production at the existing capacity of 2.6 lakh tins will resume from October 10 after repair and food safety compliance works are completed.

"We will face the Thulam month pooja with a buffer stock of 8 lakh tins. If the plant operates continuously, we will still have 17 lakh tins before October 31," Jayakumar said.

He said that once the upgraded plant became fully operational by October 31, it would produce 3.6 lakh tins daily, and a buffer stock of 75 lakh tins would be available when the temple opens on November 16.

"There will be no shortage of Aravana for the Thulam month pooja under any circumstances. As the saying goes, 'Once bitten, twice shy'; I can assure you that there will be no further shortage of Aravana," he said.

Jayakumar said there was no shortage of jaggery for prasadam and sufficient stocks had already been procured. The tender process for jaggery supply is expected to be completed by October 5, after which supplies will begin.

The contract for lid supply will be signed before October 5, while contracts for items such as dried ginger will be finalised by October 15. He also said the e-auctioning of shops would be completed soon.

On digitisation, Jayakumar said the Board was working to introduce digital payments at Sabarimala for room bookings and other transactions. "We have a team working on it. Once that is implemented, people will notice a big difference," he said, adding that around seven or eight banks had been permitted to set up digital payment kiosks at Sabarimala.

Summing up the Board's preparations, he said greater attention would be given to the quality and production of prasadam during the pilgrimage season. "Our responsibility is to present and prepare a joyful pilgrimage season for the visiting pilgrims, and we are working on that," he said.