Chaos at Sabarimala saw pilgrims stranded in long queues amid inadequate facilities and a shortage of buses over the past few days. Insufficient provisions of drinking water and food packets further exacerbated the situation. Numerous pilgrims opted to abandon their pilgrimage and visited the Valiya Koyikkal temple at Pandalam instead.
This is what a KSRTC bus driver is seen speaking to the media, “KSRTC workers are not against you. In the Nilakkal-Pamba route, the condition of the drivers and conductors is pathetic. They are carrying 150 passengers instead of the regular number of 65-70 at a time pressured by the police. If something happens to the bus, the police and the KSRTC officers are not held accountable. The accountability falls on the driver and conductor carrying them. We are not able to do anything. It is 2 hours now since it has been blocked. You (police) are asking us to take people onto our bus to clear the crowd here. When we bring 100, if we are able to take 50, this crowd will clear. But the police here do not want to listen to a word of that. This is deliberately being done. They are doing this to dismantle the KSRTC organisation, following someone’s words. We are innocent. We are plying 180 buses to take these Ayyappas safely from and to Nilakkal-Pamba. But the buses coming from other depots are being blocked by the police – Erumeli, Rapally. Why are they doing this? Why are they robbing us? We have not received our salary even, we did not get last month’s salary yet. We are not given any special allowance if we come and work. Food is being given by the organisation. Our primary and main job is to transport the Ayyappas to their destination.”
Listen to this Kerala State road transport employee.
He clearly says Police is purposefully creating trouble. They are forcing them to carry 150 passengers in place of 60-70 which is the original capacity of bus.
He continues, police is torturing the devotees.#IndiTargetsAyyappa pic.twitter.com/Gg9zV23KBH— Yuvraj Gokul (@yuvrajsays) December 13, 2023
Despite a significant increase in revenue for the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) from the Sabarimala service as reported by HRKatha, employees are reportedly facing delays in receiving their salaries. In November, KSRTC generated ₹308 crore, including ₹6 crores from the Pampa service and ₹210 crore from ticket sales. However, the first part of salaries for its staff has not been distributed, as the organization requires ₹75.25 crore to meet employee payments. Ayyappa devotees traveling to Sabarimala are encountering challenges related to insufficient bus services from Nilakkal to Pampa, leading to overcrowding and discomfort, with individuals, especially the elderly and children, facing health risks.
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