India News | Ensure Sewage Treatment Plant at Sabarimala is Functional, HC Tells Travancore Devaswom Board

Kochi, Nov 15 (PTI): With the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala opened for the annual two-month-long pilgrimage season, the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to take immediate steps to ensure functioning of the sewage treatment plant there.

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The direction was issued by a Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and P G Ajithkumar during the hearing of a plea initiated by the High Court on its own with regard to reconstruction of the recently damaged Njunangar bridge on Pampa river before the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival commences.

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On November 13, the High Court was told by the Centre that if a proper request is received from the State government or the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for construction of a temporary Bailey Bridge across the river, the station commander of Pangode Military Station shall forward it to the Army Headquarters for appropriate orders.

The State government had, thereafter, told the court that the SDMA would submit such a request to construct the temporary Bailey Bridge for the movement of heavy vehicles to the sewage treatment plant and to the incinerator at Pampa, during the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival.

Today, the State government told the High Court that the request was submitted on November 13 itself.

The Centre said the request was received on November 14 and has been forwarded to the Army HQ and a decision is awaited.

The State government and the TDB also told the court that since the temporary road has already been washed away, the functioning of the sewage treatment plant is at a standstill and the pipes laid down through the side of the temporary road are yet to be restored.

In view of the submissions, the Bench directed the TDB to "take immediate steps to ensure that, even before the construction of a temporarybridge, the functioning of the sewage treatment plant isrestored by making alternative arrangements".

With the direction, the court listed the matter for further hearing on Tuesday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)