Ayyappa Road A Nightmare

Pilgrims reaching Sabarimala, the Devaswom officials, the police and the workers at Sannidhanam have only one prayer now - 'Let the rain god be calm throughout the season.'


The reason for the prayer is the poor condition of the accident prone Swami Ayyappan Road from Pamba to Sannidhanam.


Goods, including provisions for Sabarimala, are carried by tractors via Swami Ayyappan Road. The road is also being used by the pilgrims who prefer a short cut to the shrine. Though the Devaswom officials had plans to repair the road before the commencement of the season, nothing has been done so far.


"It has become a really dangerous road now. Last year, we witnessed seven mishaps in nine rainy days. A young child was killed too. The season before that also witnessed an accident death. This year, it'll get worse if it rains. We have no clue how to keep ourselves safe," said Dali, a tractor driver.


The pilgrims too prefer Chandranan road to Swami Ayyappan road now, considering the safety.
“We were informed that the Swami Ayyappan road is damaged. Chandranan stretch may be steeper, but it is safer,” said Mr R. Rajashekharan, a pilgrim from Hyderabad.


The Swami Ayyappan road was built in 1985 by film producer Neela Subrahmaniam. Profit from his movie Swami Ayyappan, was used forbuilding the road.