State Govt to appoint special officer for Pampa rebuilding

The Kerala government today decided to appoint a senior IAS official as special officer to coordinate infrastructure development works at Pampa in Sabarimala, which suffered massive destruction in the recent deluge.

Pampa is the base station from where pilgrims trek to the famous Lord Ayyappa temple atop Sabarimala.

Following the torrential rains, the Pampa river near the foothills of Sabarimala had breached its banks at several places, submerging many shops, damaging buildings, flooding pathways and uprooting electric posts.

A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also decided to rope in an expert agency to carry out a study on infrastructure development to be taken up in the region and to start construction work on a war-footing.

"A senior IAS officer will be appointed as special officer to coordinate the infrastructure development works," an official release said here.

The objective was to reinstate basic infrastructure facilities before the beginning of the three-month-long annual pilgrimage season beginning this November, it said.

The government had already decided to entrust with the army construction of three bailey bridges at Pampa before the pilgrimage season, it said.

During the rain mayhem, the river overran its banks and left a trail of destruction at the foothills. The toilet complex and parking facilities were washed away. A pump house and hospital building were also damaged.

Chief secretary Tom Jose, Travancore devaswom board president A Padmakumar and DGP Loknath Behera were among those who took part in the meeting, the release added.

Padmakumar later said no more concrete structures would be allowed in the Pampa area.

The total loss and damage caused by the floods in Pampa was estimated to be Rs 100 crore, he said.

The Lord Ayyappa shrine attracts lakhs of devotees from the country and abroad during the annual Mandalam-Makaravillaku pilgrimage season in November-January.