Sabarimala clean-up, collect 35,000 big bags of garbage
The famous Hindu temple at Sabarimala increases the popularity with each year the authorities are faced with a huge garbage problem during the pilgrimage season. In this year, 35,000 big bags of garbage were taken out from the shrine complex and the foothills. This year more than 5,000 volunteers are arrived for the first round of clean-up, volunteers are arrived on Sabarimala by the call of Amritanandamayi (Amma). Volunteers included ashram residents, students from various campuses of Amritapuri, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Kochi and Mysore. The clean-up operation was held on Nov 3-4 and shrine authorities are now ready to receive the new batch of pilgrims.Volunteers will sort out the items that could be burned. The garbage's that could not be burned will be given to the district authorities. Volunteers will collect more than 35,000 bags of garbage, including clothes and plastic from the foothills of the temple, from the shrine and river banks. About 15 million pilgrims visited the hill shrine in the last pilgrimage season.
The temple is situated in Pathanamthitta district on the Western Ghats and 914 meters above sea level. The temple is on four km uphill from the Pamba and the temple is surrounded by dense forests. The temple is open on the first few days of every month of the Malayalam calendar. The third week of November pilgrimage season begins. Making the Sabarimala hill shrine garbage-free the state police taken an operation "Punyam Poonkavanam" .The forest department, with help from volunteers of the "Akhila Bharatha Ayyapa Seva Sanghom" cleaned the temple town and the approach road. In every alternate day the cleaning process will performed.
