Development projects worth Rs 100 crore will be implemented at Sabarimala to improve facilities for devotees before the next pilgrimage season, a top official said.
Ten projects have been selected which would be taken up on a priority basis once financial sanction was accorded, additional chief secretary K. Jaykumar told reporters after a meeting of the Sabarimala Infrastructure Development Fund Trust Board held at Nedumabssery on Sunday.
Sponsors would be identified to implement some schemes.
The first priority would be to develop Nilackkal base camp and resting facilities for pilgrims would be provided there, he said. With this facility, the crowd proceeding to the Sabarimala Sanctum Sanctorum could be restricted, he said.
More queue complexes would be introduced in the area to reduce the congestion in the queues moving to the 'Sreekovil' for darshan, he said.
The vehicle parking area would be expanded, a check-dam constructed to enhance water storage capacity, he said.
Chief patrons of the board, former Supreme Court judge Justice Arijit Pasayath and principal secretary to the Prime Minister T.K.A. Nair, Devaswom Ombudsman Justice Bhaskaran and Travancore Devaswom President Rajagopalan Nair were among those who attended the meeting.
The meeting comes in the wake of the stampede at Pullumedu on January 14 which claimed the lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims.