Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has assured Governor P Sathasivam that all outstanding issues regarding the ongoing pilgrimage season at Sabarimala ‘will be looked into and acted upon as soon as possible.’
The assurance was conveyed during a meeting with the Governor at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday at the latter’s insistence after various political party leaders and others had met him over the past few days airing their concerns.
Sathasivam received written petitions from Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition, the Sabarimala Karma Samithy, among others, over the restrictions imposed at Sabarimala and lack of basic facilities.
Basic amenities
A Kerala Congress (Mani) delegation led by party chairman and former Finance Minister KM Mani met the Governor on Wednesday and apprised him of the need to revoke the Section 144 in force at Sabarimala.
The meeting between the Governor and Chief Minister Vijayan lasted for half an hour during when they discussed measures taken to ensure basic amenities such as drinking water, toilets, and restrooms at the base camp of Nilackal, Pampa, and along the way to the Sannidhanam (sanctum).
Another major issue flagged was the need to improve transport facility between Nilackal and Pampa.
The Governor referred to the ‘unfriendly atmosphere’ that Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan had to encounter at Nilackal.
While discussing complaints about the police action, Sathasivam broached the subject of lifting restrictions imposed through Section 144 around the shrine. Various directions of the Kerala High Court also figured in the discussion.
Escalated to Centre
Meanwhile, law and order at Sabarimala is being escalated to the Centre after Union Minister Radhakrishnan was allegedly not accorded due respect by Yatheesh Chandra, SP and in-charge at the base camp at Nilackal on Wednesday. The BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kanyakumari where Radhakrishnan represents as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Various BJP-aligned organisations blocked Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses at the inter-State border on Wednesday evening, which triggered a similar response on the Kerala side of the border.