Sabarimala: Emergency road to be opened by CM today

The new emergency service road at Pampa, built by the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangam, will be thrown open on Saturday by the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy.


Meant for emergency purposes, the road will not be open for general pilgrims. But pilgrims who need hospital care will be taken out through this route.


It will also be used to transport goods and vegetables. The service road is the first project implemented under the new Sabarimala Master Plan. Connecting Triveni Bridge to the police dormitory, the road is 1.25 km long.


“This road will be really useful to transport pilgrims to hospitals in Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. During Makaravilakku, the normal road will be jammed, and there is little space to transport goods too. Last year during Makaravilakku, goods for prasadam and annadhanam were stuck at Pampa for days. There won't be any issues this season, as the service road will help the officials,” said Mr Damodaran, the emergency captain of Ayyappa Seva Sangam.


The road costs nearly Rs 1 crore, and is made of concrete. “We haven't used tar to surface the road, as concrete will last longer at places like Pampa. It is built with future developments of Sabarimala in mind,” Mr Damodaran added.


The Ayyappa Seva Sangam took nine months to complete the construction of the road. “It was expected to get completed sooner. But, the monsoon ruined our plans. However, we are happy that we could finish it during this season,” he said.