Aravana crisis solved at Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala

Pathanamthitta, Dec 15 (UNI) The Aravana crisis that gripped Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple from the first day of 'Mandalam' pilgrimage season had been resolved to the satisfaction of all stake-holders at Sabarimala. Those who felt relieved most were the pilgrims, who hailed from neighbouring southern states.

The panacea to the Aravana crisis was provided by the innovative minded Devaswom Minister G Sudhakaran. He suggested at the Sabarimala review meeting held at the Collectorate here the other day that Aravana should be provided to the pilgrims in the vessels brought by them. A special counter was opened at Sannidhanam for this purpose. Now, the long queues found before Aravana counters became a thing of the past.

From the new counter, a devotee could have maximum five litres of Aravana. This is equal to 20 eco-friendly containers. One litre of Aravana cost Rs 176. The other five Aravana counters were functioning as usual. At present, 60,000 tins of Aravana had been stocked. In addition, 3.5 lakh tins and 13 lakh flip-lids were in stock. There is a regular flow of containers from Tamil Nadu and flip-lid from Taiwan.

UNI