Lack of facilities affecting Sabarimala pilgrims

SABARIMALA: Lack of facilities on the trekking path between Marakoottam and Saramkuthi is affecting thousands of pilgrims, who have to stand in long queues for five to six hours for darsan of Lord Ayyappa.Poor maintenance of the trekking path, absence of medicated drinking water supply, lack of toilets and poor lighting facility during the night time are affecting those pilgrims who wait in the queues on the Marakoottam-Saramkuthi stretch of the trekking path.The one-km trekking path after Marakoottam is not even levelled, putting the pilgrims, who walk bare-footed, to severe hardships. This path still remains narrow, though the trekking path between Neelimala and Marakoottam was widened years ago.The Devaswom authorities so far failed to take any initiative to widen this trekking path. The Devaswom authorities are yet to set up drinking water kiosks on the trekking path and deploy adequate number of temporary staff for its distribution.Absence of toilets on the trekking path is another problem faced by the pilgrims. The pilgrims, especially women and the aged, are facing an uphill task in this regard.  Queue Complex Yet to be Completed: The queue complex near Saramkuthi is half finished and if the pace of work is any indication, it would take another two weeks to be completed.