Aiming to cater to the rush of passengers during the Sabarimala season, the Southern Railway will operate Vande Bharat Sabari special trains between Chennai Central and Kottayam starting today (December 15). According to the Southern Railway, 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. Train No. 06152 Kottayam-Dr MGR Chennai Central will leave the Kerala town at 04.40 hrs on December 16, 18, 23 and 25 during its return journey, and arrive Chennai at 17.15 hours on the same day.
The train will also be halted at various stations including Katpadi, Salem, Palakkad and Aluva.
Why this initiative?
The Railways took the initiative after a mismanagement-related situation erupted at Sabarimala following a sudden rise in 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.
Opposition slams Kerala government
The Opposition parties, including the BJP and Congress, attacked the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government after the incident.
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.
Kerala High Court's order
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.
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.
(With ANI inputs)
