Kochi: The High Court strongly criticised the lapses in managing the crowd at Sabarimala. The court observed that there is no proper coordination in crowd control and that none of the assurances given by the Devaswom Board have been fulfilled.

The court pointed out that the Devaswom Board failed to honour the assurances it had given regarding crowd management. There was no proper coordination at Sabarimala. Preparations should have begun at least six months earlier, the court noted. Crowd control must be done scientifically, which clearly has not happened at Sabarimala. The court asked what is the point in allowing maximum number of people to reach the Sannidhanam without proper arrangements.

The Devaswom Board does not have accurate data on how many people can be accommodated at the Sannidhanam, Pampa, Nilakkal, the stretch between Nilakkal and Pampa, and the forest routes. The only figure they have is an estimate that 90,000 people can be allowed darshan in a day. The court directed that these areas should be divided into separate sectors.

The suggestion is to divide the stretch from Nilakkal to Sannidhanam into four or five sectors. The capacity of each sector must be calculated. Only after that people should be allowed to proceed upwards, the High Court instructed the government and the Devaswom Board. The court stated that the priority is not in allowing people to climb up, but in ensuring that those who do reach are given proper darshan and their safety is guaranteed.