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Tumble of coconut heap atop hillock caused Sabarimala tragedy: collector

D Jose in Trivandrum

The collapse of coconuts heaped atop a hilltop at the Sabarimala pilgrim centre led to the landslide that caused Thursday's stampede that killed 52 people, including five children and one child.

This is the finding of the preliminary investigation into the tragedy by the Pathanamthitta district administration. The Kerala government has already ordered a judicial inquiry into the accident.

Thousands of people had taken position on the hilltop to have a better view of Makara Vilakku, with many camping in the hilltop since Wednesday. In addition to this, many who arrived subsequently at the temple also had taken position in the hilltop.

Pathanamthitta district Collector T Thankappan told Rediff On The Net that the coconuts stocked for the rituals fell down when some people climbed over to have a better glimpse of Makara Vilakku (celestial light), which appeared over the eastern horizon of Sabarimala. The crunch of people and coconuts down the hill slopes caused the landslide. In the process, some overhead cables snapped, causing electric shocks to people.

The body of one person was extricated from the debris today, taking the death toll up from yesterday's 51. The district Superintendent of Police Manoj Abraham said the toll could rise further, since many are believed to be missing. Besides, the condition of at least four persons admitted to the Kottayam Medical College hospital is reported to be critical.

Out of the total 51 injured, 12 have been admitted to the Kottayam Medical College hospital, 15 to the Kozhencherry district government hospital and 24 to the Pathanamthitta general hospital.

Only 36 people who died in the accident have been identified so far. Out of this, 18 were from Andhra Pradesh and five each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and eight from Kerala. The bodies of 18 people who could not be identified, mostly people who came alone, have been moved to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital.

A pall of gloom has spread in the entire pilgrim centre immediately after the accident. The pilgrims this season included several from Singapore, Malaysia and Canada.

This is the worst accident reported in recent times at Sabarimala despite unmanageable crowds. The death toll in the previous accidents did not cross 10.

The state government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25,000 to the deceased, Rs 15,000 to children and Rs 5-10,000 to the injured, while the temple administration has agreed to meet the cost involved in the treatment of the injured. The state government has deputed a high-level medical team from the state capital with sufficient stock of medicines to the pilgrim centre. All the hospitals in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Alleppey have been alerted for help. Four state ministers and senior officials have been camping in the area to supervise the relief works.

Meanwhile, the safety and sanitary conditions in the hill shrine, which is visited by millions every year, are pitiable. The temple administration, which earns millions of rupees each season, has been unable to provide necessary facilities to the pilgrims, the main problem being lack of land. The temple is located in a forest, and the administration has been refusing to release the required land.

The Kerala high court was seized of the problems haunting the pilgrim centre, and had only recently pointed out the dangerous condition of a platform made of rocks, where the pilgrims gather. The court had urged the temple administration to repair it urgently.

State Bharatiya Janata Party president C K Padmanabhan accused the government of diverting the money received from pilgrims to other purposes instead of on their safety and welfare. The Travancore Dewaswom Board, which administers the temple, had collected Rs 350 million by way of offerings from the devotees.

Padmanabhan also alleged that the compensation awarded by the government was inadequate. This, he said, could be due to the fact that most of the victims were from neighbouring states.

The Sabarimala temple has an interesting legend behind it. The idol of the main deity -- Ayyappa (also known as Sastha) -- was installed by Parasurama at Sabarimala. He also installed it at various places in Kerala, which are known as Sastha temples. The Sabarimala temple is considered the most secular religious place since a Muslim, Vavar, was a close friend of Ayyappa. It is a practice for pilgrims to pay obeisance to Vavar before visiting the temple.

The temple was also recently drawn into a controversy when its administration accepted a donation from a liquor baron (Vijay Mallya of United Breweries) for gold covering over the sanctum sanctorum.

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