Sabarimala tragedy: Could it have been averted?

While the Kerala government has ordered a judicial probe into the horrific tragedy that has claimed the lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims, the irony is that the disaster could have been averted — if recent orders from the Kerala high court for better management of the Sabarimala pilgrimage had been implemented, or if the suggestions of a judicial probe that followed a similar tragedy 11 years ago had been heeded

In fact, forest authorities, too, had time and again brought various lapses to the notice of officials and ministers at various review meetings.

Given that the stampede was caused by a jeep that went out of control, questions are being raised as to how the police could allow vehicles to enter the area, which is a Reserve Forest Region. “We had suggested a strict regulation of pilgrims trekking along the seven-km path unless until basic amenities were provided in the area,” a forest official said.

While the presence of a large number of light vehicles like jeeps and autorickshaws without permission or control through the forested route, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, proved fatal, lack of basic amenities like lighting, water supply and camping facilities, coupled with insufficient police deployment contributed to the stampede, said forest officials. Though the Pulmedu route has been used by pilgrims from Tamil Nadu for a while now, the area had never been sufficiently covered by security and crowd management plans of the Sabarimala pilgrimage. On days of heavy rush, the entire focus of the forces, including the police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), would shift to the Sannidhanam-Pampa route used by over 90 per cent of pilgrims.

On Friday, when the incident occurred, only a few members of the Forest Protection Councils and about 30 policemen from the local police station were present to manage the unexpectedly high inflow of pilgrims, sources said.