Even after two weeks of the commencement of this year’s pilgrimage season at Sabarimala, the largest pilgrimage destination in Kerala, delay in commencing the operation of a Medical Store at the pilgrim centre is creating acute health problems to the millions of pilgrims who visit the holy place and to the thousands of workers and contract labourers settled there.

Devotees and contract labourers who live in the dense forest for more than three months during the season are in need of certain essential medicines such as insulin and glyciphage for diabetes, deriphyllin, Asthalin and ventolin inhaler for asthama, atenolol and nifedipine for blood pressure and ibuprofen for fever and pain. Presently, the workers and the staff at the Sabarimala centre are collecting these medicines from far away Pathanamthitta district by their own efforts.

When contacted, K Sankara Narayana Pillai, the executive officer at Sabarimala, said this year the contract for starting a pharmacy at ‘Sannidhanam’ (the holy place) has been given to a person on contract basis, but the laxity on his part is the reason for the delay in opening the store. He said as per the agreement, the contractor must employ a qualified pharmacist in the medical store to dispense the drugs. The facility for the drugs store was given to him by the Devaswom Board, but he used it for other purposes. So the authorities sealed the room and cancelled the licence, the executive officer said.

Regarding the delay, the deputy drugs controller at Thiruvananthapuram, Revi S Menon said that previously the Travancore Devaswom Board was used to apply for  temporary licences for opening pharmacies at Pampa and at Sabarimala. This year nobody has approached the office of the DCA at Pathanamthitta with application. He said that was the reason for the delay in opening the pharmacies in both the places.

According to contract labourers working at the pilgrim centre, the essential medicines for their diseases are not supplied through the government dispensaries working in the forest area.

Sources from the Devaswom Board said, last year the contract for the medical store was given for Rs.
2,30,000, but it was signed this year for only Rs.
1,06,000.

Devaswom Board had allotted a room for the pharmacy in the Electricity Building located opposite to the Lord Ayyappa Temple.