CLEANING DRIVE- PAMPA-SANNIDHANAM

CLEANING DRIVE-

 PAMPA-SANNIDHANAM

The  Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS) launched a cleaning drive on the Pampa-Sannidhanam trekking path on Monday,5^TH November,2012.National general secretary N.Velayudhan Nair led the drive at Marakkoottom, Sabaripeedhom, and Appachimedu.Over 100 volunteers from Chittur in Palakkad took part in the drive. ABASS stretcher service captain Thanchavur Damodaran said the cleaning drive would continue on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the 3,200-strong volunteer force attached to the Mata Amritanandamayi Math completed a cleaning programme as part of the Amalabharathom campaign at the Sannidhanam and Pampa on Sunday evening.Thapasyamrita Chaitanya and Gurudas Chaitanya, who were in charge of the drive at the Sannidhanam, told The Hindu that 25,000 bags of waste was collected from the Sannidhanam and surrounding areas during the two-day drive.

The Amalabharathom volunteers burned the waste at the incinerator.A total of 2,200 volunteers, including 100 foreigners, were deployed at the Sannidhanam while 1,000 volunteers, the majority of them women, carried out the cleaning operation at Pampa.At Pampa, 10,000 bags of waste was collected and shifted to the incinerator premises at Cheriyanavattom.Swami Jnanamritandana Puri, who was in charge of the cleaning drive at Sabarimala, said the Travancore Devaswom Board should keep large bins along the Pampa bathing ghats for the devotees to keep their clothes while returning from Sabarimala with a view to preventing them from throwing it into the river.He said the temple authorities should take extra care in educating the pilgrims, especially those coming from outside Kerala, the tradition and custom of the pilgrimage and the importance of preserving the serenity of the pilgrim centre.

Prof. John Kurakar