Radhakrishnan Kuttoor
SABARIMALA
A recently evolved custom of abandoning clothes in the
Pampa by pilgrims, mostly from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka returning
after darshan at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, is causing pollution
at the foothills, affecting normal flow of the river.
Workers
from Tamil Nadu collecting clothes abandoned in the river to sell them
at Rs.2 to 5 to contractors from Shenkottah and Tirunelvely reportedly
made the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to think of introducing a
system to auction of the right to collect clothes from the river a few
years ago.
The board auctioned off the right to
collect cloths from the river during the pilgrim season at Rs.65,000
five years ago. Over the years, the revenue from this account increased
and the right to collect cloths from the Pampa this season fetched Rs.7
lakh.
The used clothes, collected from the river,
will be dried and transported to Tamil Nadu in lorries. These clothes
will be darned, coloured and starched to sell them at various pilgrim
centres, including Sabarimala.
There are allegations
that the contractor’s men collect only ‘reusable’ clothes, leaving
tattered clothes in the river, causing pollution in the Pampa.
Cleaning drives
The
Sabarimala Sanitation Society chaired by the Collector had to launch
periodic cleaning drives in the Pampa bathing ghats to remove the
clothes floating in the river.
Though the State
Pollution Control Board had repeatedly directed the TDB to ensure
effective removal of clothes from the river, it is often observed in the
breach.
Environmentalists opined that a large fire
place (aazhi) should be constructed at Pampa to facilitate the disposal
of clothes, ‘puja’ materials and other items instead of them being
thrown into the river.
