Festival manual and budget for Sabarimala pilgrimage; management will be completely revamped, says Jayakumar

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Travancore Devaswom Board is preparing to completely reform the management of the Sabarimala pilgrimage. In the future, the pilgrimage will be organised based on a pre-prepared festival budget and festival manual. The IMG Festival Management Manual, Thiruvananthapuram, will prepare the plan. Preparations for the next pilgrimage will begin next month, with a meeting scheduled on February 6.

Board meetings will continue in a review and planning format, said Devaswom Board President K Jayakumar during his appearance on Kaumudy TV’s Straight Line program. Preparations for the next pilgrimage will take place over nine months, from February to October 31. Jayakumar said that there will be proper accounting of all funds allocated for the pilgrimage.

Currently, the pilgrimage is conducted only after the funds requested by the Executive Officer are sanctioned in advance. The figures are received after the pilgrimage. If the accounts are delayed, the audit will also be delayed. This causes the Board to face criticism from the High Court. The festival budget is meant to avoid such situations.

Free toilets for pilgrims The board will stop charging fees for using toilets at Sabarimala. The current standard of toilets does not satisfy the board. Previously, toilets were auctioned, which led to pilgrims being exploited. Pilgrims have sometimes paid Rs 100 but not received proper service. Toilets will now be kept clean and will not generate profit- they will be free for all devotees.

No intermediaries The board will set guidelines for accepting sponsorships for projects at Sabarimala. Agreements will be made directly with sponsors who have proper addresses and pay income tax. Intermediaries who falsely present themselves as donors will be removed. Devotees will be able to reserve rooms without middlemen or recommendations. Previously, intermediaries who booked rooms in advance for Makaravilakku days charged up to Rs 1.5 lakh, while the board’s fee was only Rs 2,500–3,000. This time, the board directly provided 125 rooms online, also allowing ordinary devotees to get rooms.

Maximum of 30 items on the agenda in board meeting A maximum of 30 agenda items will be discussed per board meeting, instead of the previous 80-90 items. Only after the president’s review will agenda items be presented to the board. The board will have full responsibility for all decisions.

1. More facilities for queue management next season 2. Announcements in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada 3. The payasam feast is a success, serving 6,000 devotees per day

“Even if the Devaswom Board plans everything, the pilgrimage cannot be conducted without the good support and assistance of the government,” said K. Jayakumar, President of the Devaswom Board.