Even as the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala was opened for the second phase of the annual pilgrimage season on Saturday, concerns linger over an anticipated shortage of Aravana, the most important offering to the devotees, for the remaining season.
Taking a serious note of the situation, M. Manoj, Sabarimala Special Commissioner has approached the Kerala High Court with a request to issue directions to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for manufacturing sufficient volume of Aravana as well as to ensure uninterrupted supply of composite cans.
Delay by board
The report also flags a delay by the board in initiating the tender process for the composite cans, which has to an extend contributed to the crisis.
While the production of Aravana at the Sannidhanam is about 2.70 lakhs cans per day, the TDB receives only one lakh cans everyday. A second contractor, meanwhile, supplies one lakh cans only once in every four days. A short tender floated by the TDB for the supply of 30 lakhs too has not yielded desired results.
The crisis in supply of jaggery, meanwhile, could be overcome with the contractor agreeing to supply an additional volume of 10 lakh kilograms, noted the report.
As on December 30, the buffer stock of Aravana was just three lakh cans. The report also highlights the need for ensuring a comfortable buffer stock of 10 lakh cans of Aravana when the temple reopens for Makaravilakku season.
“If the adequate supply of cans is not properly ensured there will be a huge shortage of Aravana, as a result of which lakhs of devotees would not be able to be given the Aravana Prasadam which would hurt their religious sentiments and it may give rise to huge crowd near the Aravana counter and the Sannidhanam and create law and order problems, as devotees are very reluctant to return from Sabarimala without Aravana Prasadam’’, reads the report.
The Commissioner, meanwhile, has also requested the HC’s permission for making suggestions to expedite the tendering process before the season and towards the TDB’s proposal to set up its own can manufacturing unit.
The sale of Aravana has yielded income worth ₹96. 32 crore to the TDB during this Mandalam season alone.
