Master plan to be completed on a time

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport and Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar said that quick steps would be initiated to complete the Sabarimala Master Plan in a time-bound manner. He said that the decision in this regard was taken by the high-level committee which met here on Wednesday.The Minister said that the Nilackal parking ground would be metalled before the next pilgrimage season with an expected expenditure of Rs 13.9 crore. The first phase of the queue complex at an estimated cost of Rs 1.3 crore would be constructed by the Devaswom Board and the second would be built through sponsorship, the Minister said. The meeting also decided to invite tender for the Pampa-Sannidhanam ropeway and build an additional plant to produce ‘aravana’ so that the shortage is not felt. The cleaning of the Sabarimala-Pampa areas would be completed at least two weeks ahead of the pilgrimage season and special squads will be constituted for solid waste disposal and ensuring food security. Safety Manual would be prepared and followed strictly in order to ensure that incidents such as Pulmedu tragedy is not repeated, the Minister said. Meanwhile, Justice M R Hariharan Nair took over as judicial commission for Pulmedu tragedy.