Revision as of 19:24, 5 January 2018

Pollution, garbage, the environment

Sabarimala crush puts reserve at risk

Malini Nair

The Times of India Jun 22 2014

20L Pilgrims Trample Periyar’s Forests Every Your

From a distance, it is hard to figure out what the mess piled up on the banks of river Pamba is. The photograph is actually a surreal view of a sea of sodden dhotis abandoned by pilgrims as they end the hard trek to the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.

This pile will soon degrade into pulp and join other junk and sewage waste that flows down this once pristine river that feeds the Periyar Tiger Reserve. This will include water bottles, oil drained from smashed coconut shells and other kinds of non-degradable rubbish. This is what you see at the end of the festive season of December and January every year when a staggering 20 lakh pilgrims trek through the forested landscape of Sabarimala.

Veteran wildlife photographer NP Jayan worked for two years in the region, documenting the massive damage to its environment. Of the 7,000 frames he clicked, 70 are being mounted at the India International Centre in Delhi at a photo show titled Thathwamasi, Eye on the Periyar Tiger Reserve and Sabarimala.

“Every route is littered with piles of refuse. The facilities here cannot even cope with 10 lakh pilgrims and we get 35 lakh on the final day,“ says Jayan.

Regulation of pilgrimages is a sensitive issue for obvious reasons but it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the devastation caused by excessive flow of the devout to India’s tirth yatras. Many such sacred sites are located in the midst of nature — rivers, mountains and forests were protected because they were hard to access. Sabarimala itself is called a ‘kanana kshetram’ (forest temple), where the flora and fauna are as sacred as the shrine itself. “You cannot treat it like a popular urban temple. You cannot build concrete structures, roads and helipads and change it undamental concept,” says former forest minister Binoy Viswam.

“The Travancore Devaswom Board seems to be only concerned with awarding of contracts.” Environmentalists fear a disaster like Kedarnath. Environmentalists fear a disaster like Kedarnath. Experts believe the Himalayan tragedy was the result of excessive construction to cater to pilgrim needs. The Periyar forest reserve, known for its rich biodiversity, is threatened by rampant development. “There are few tiger sightings here now,” Jayan says,.

There was a time when Sabarimala was a tough pilgrimage. It wound through difficult terrain inhabited by predators, and young women were not allowed entry. Today, access is easy, authorities have eased the ordeals, and the route is littered with shacks. This pulls pilgrims from across the country. “The authorities seem wary of offending the bhaktas,” says Jayan.

In early 2014, the decaying carcass of an elephant was found here. He had ingested kilos of plastic waste. So far only plastic bags were banned inside the temple. There is now a call to extend the ban to all plastics.

“It is now up to devotees to step up and take care of the temple’s environment,” says Viswam.

HC bans use of elephants at Sabarimala temple

The Times of India, June 3, 2016

The Kerala High Court directed that elephant should not be used for idol procession during Sabarimala's main festival season, 'Makaravilakku'. However, the court has allowed using one elephant for the procession in connection with the annual festival.

A division bench comprising acting chief justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and justice Anu Sivaraman issued the directive after obtaining the views of two 'tantris' (traditional chief priests)and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which is the autonomous body that manages the hilltop shrine for Lord Ayyappa in Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala.

Sabarimala 'tantris' Kantararu Rajeevararu and Kantararu Mahesh Mohanaru had informed the court that there is no need to use the elephant for 'Makaravilakku' as per rituals and tradition. However, they different in their opinions regarding use of elephant for the annual festival. In the order, the court said use of elephant is being allowed for the annual festival as the 'tantris' differ in their views regarding its necessity.

TDB had opposed the views put forward by the 'tantris' regarding 'Makaravilakku' and had told the court that rituals and traditions at Sabarimala that presently involves the use of elephants should be retained as such. TDB, which manages over 1,200 temples including Sabarimala, has an annual revenue of Rs350 crore, with offerings made by Sabarimala pilgrims during the two-month-long pilgrimage season contributing more than Rs200 crore to TDB's total revenue.

Entry of women in the temple

Entry of women between 10 and 50 years

The Times of India, Apr 12 2016

AmitAnand Choudhary

Sabarimala tradition can't override statute, says SC  Ban On Entry Of Women Violates Art 25

The Supreme Court frowned upon the practice of barring women between the ages of 10 and 50 years from the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala, asserting that religious practice and tradition could not be allowed to dent constitutional principles and values. Questioning the validity of tradition which has been under attack from feminists and others, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra, V Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph said temple was a public religious place and it must observe the constitutional values of gender equality .

The judges said the issue involved the question whether tradition could override the Constitution which prohibited gender discrimination. “Why this kind of classification for devotees to visit the temple? We are on constitutional principles.Gender discrimination in such matters is untenable.You cannot create corrosion or erosion in constitutional values,“ the bench said.

Counsels of Kerala go vernment and the temple board vehemently supported the ban on entry of women into the shrine revered by millions. However, the bench made it clear that the judiciary would decide such issues only on the basis of constitutional provisions and would not be swayed by tradition.

The bench pointed out that women had always been at a higher pedestal in society since time immemorial and it was part of the country's ancient tradition.

Senior advocate V Giri, appearing for the Kerala government, said bar on entry of women was due to the biological phenomenon of menstruation. He said the government was duty bound to protect the centuries-old tradition banning women from the temple.

The bench, however, said such practice was against the spirit of Article 25 which guarantees every citizen the right to practice and propagate religion.

Associating menstruation with purity

The Times of India, Apr 26 2016

How can you link periods to purity: SC on Sabarimala ban

AmitAnand Choudhary  The Travancore Devasvom Board, which manages Kerala's Sabarimala Temple justified ban on the entry of females in the age group of 10-50, saying it is an age-old practice and such restrictions were followed in other religious places too.

“Woman below 10 years or above 50 years are allowed to visit the temple. The classification is not on the ground of gender,“ the board's lawyer K K Venugopal told a bench of justices Dipak Misra, V Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph.

The bench retorted, “Are you associating menstruation with purity ? Can a biological phenomenon be a reason for barring women?“ Venugopal said classification on the basis of age had been followed in different fields.

“We will see what prevails -Constitutional philosophy or your faith,“ the bench said.

Name

2018: Restored to Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple

RADHAKRISHNAN KUTTOOR, TDB restores name of Sabarimala temple, January 5, 2018: The Times of India

The Sree Dharma Sastha Temple at Sabarimala.
From: RADHAKRISHNAN KUTTOOR, TDB restores name of Sabarimala temple, January 5, 2018: The Times of India

Board to place before SC its stand on women’s entry

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to restore the name of the Sabarimala temple to Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, revoking the decision taken by the previous board renaming it as Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Swami Temple. The decision was taken at a TDB meeting held at the board headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

TDB president A. Padmakumar told The Hindu that the earlier decision to rename the Sabarimala temple was taken disregarding the strong objection raised by board member K. Raghavan. The government too was not happy with the controversial decision, he said.

Mr. Padmakumar said many Ayyappa devotees had expressed concern over the renaming of the temple. The previous board’s clarification was that the name-changing exercise would be helpful in defending the case pending before the Supreme Court (SC) over permitting entry for women of all ages to Sabarimala.

However, the TDB president said the board would place its strong and stern stand before the apex court against the demand from certain quarters for permitting women in all age groups to Sabarimala. Changing the name of the temple was not at all a necessity to support the TDB stand in the court that, sticking to the custom and tradition, women in the menstruating age group of 10 to 50 years should not be permitted to enter Sabarimala. The previous board’s decision had left many Ayyappa devotees confused and dejected, he said.

Mr. Padmakumar said Wednesday’s board meeting decided to introduce punching system for employees at the TDB headquarters. The proposed punching system would be modelled on the one at the Secretariat. The system would be extended to all TDB offices in a time-bound manner.

See also

Temple trusts/ boards