SABARIMALA: Rare Marayoor Sandalwood required for the ‘Kalabha Abhishekam’ ritual in Sabarimala is purchased from Mavelikkara natives, said the Travancore Devaswom Board on Thursday. However, this revelation will be made for scrutiny since the board had the authority to purchase sandalwoods directly from Marayoor but decided to purchase via middlemen without inviting any tender, which makes it suspicious nevertheless. Inviting tender is strictly followed for every purchase in Sabarimala, but diligently avoiding sandalwood from the list makes it dubious.

Meanwhile, officials at the Marayoor sandalwood depot revealed to Kerala Kaumudi that 90 per cent of the sandalwood sold through auctions is "white" of the lowest quality. This purchase costs less than Rs 1,200 per kg including all taxes. Quality sandalwood costs more than Rs 20,000. Rs 38,400 is charged for ‘Kalabhabhishekam’ at Sabarimala including the Devaswom fee of Rs.12500.More than 1.5kg of sandalwood is required for one ‘Kalabhabhishekam’ Pooja.

The most demanded is the core part and the root of the Marayoor sandalwood, which comes at a high cost. Even Guruvayoor Devaswom and Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple authorities reach out directly to purchase these sought-after sandalwood. Travancore Devaswom Board has not yet participated in the auction. Kalabhabhishekam in Sabarimala requires more than a hundred kilos of sandalwood per year.

The forest department allows the mass purchase of sandalwood from the Marayoor depot only once a year. Less than one kg of sandalwood is available in the stalls of the forest department in Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram districts and the stall of KFDC in Munnar.

However, when it comes to Sabarimala, the middleman buys it and sells it to the Devaswom Board. This is illegal and it is not clear where the sandalwood is procured from.