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The Devaswom bench of the Kerala High Court, hearing a suo moto case related to the rush and crowd in Sabarimala, issued a slew of directions for crowd control at the hill shrine during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season.
The court has directed the Executive Magistrate to ensure that the price list and cleanliness of the hotels in Erumeli are correct. It has also directed the Panchayat Secretary to ensure that no additional fees are charged to parking grounds and notice should be given to grounds operating without a license under the Erumeli Gram Panchayat. The Devaswom Bench stated that the High Court Registrar had received 300 complaints regarding the inconveniences at Sabarimala. The Devaswom bench also directed that the pilgrims should be given facilities as per the court order. However, the government has replied that the pilgrims are trying to portray that there are problems with crowd management in Sabarimala. A mismanagement-related situation erupted at Sabarimala following the sudden surge of pilgrims a few days ago. The hill shrine generally witnesses a heavy rush during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season, which began on November 17 this year. After the incident, the Kerala government has come under attack by opposition parties including the BJP and Congress. However, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday that the situation at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala was under control and asserted that the government machinery was intervening diligently in temple matters. Meanwhile, the Southern Railway will operate a Vande Bharat Sabari special train between Chennai Central and Kottayam to cater to the extra rush of passengers during the ongoing Sabarimala season. According to a post shared on Southern Railway's official X handle, Train No 06151 MGR Chennai Central-Kottayam Vande Bharat Special will leave MGR Chennai Central at 04:30 hrs and reach Kottayam at 16:15 hrs on the same day on December 15, 17, 22 and 24. During its return journey, train No. 06152 Kottayam-Dr MGR Chennai Central will leave Kerala town at 04:40 hrs on December 16, 18, 23 and 25 and arrive here at 17:15 hrs the same day. The train will make designated stops at stations including Katpadi, Salem, Palakkad and Aluva. (ANI)
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