The Sabarimala Sannidhanam is likely to face water scarcity during the ensuing Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season since the Kunnar check-dam in the interior forests has been filled with earth and mud carried by the recent floods.
The 3.5-metre-high check-dam, with a capacity to store 50 lakh litres of water, has been catering to the drinking water needs of the Sabarimala Sannidhanam for several years.
The water stored in the check-dam in the forests, seven kilometres from Sabarimala, is being brought to the storage tanks at Pandithavalom by gravitational flow for being supplied to the entire Sannidhanam.
The Travancore Devaswom Board and the High Power Committee for implementation of the Sabarimala master plan had proposed augmentation of the storage capacity of the dam by increasing its height.
However, the Forest Department is yet to accept the proposal on ecological grounds.
Now, with the check-dam filled with sand and mud, the flow of water to the storage tanks at the Sannidhanam has been stopped.
‘Scoop out earth’ The TDB engineering team inspected the Kunnar dam on Monday and demanded that earth be scooped out of the dam urgently.
Enough stock Board sources said there would not be any water scarcity at Sabarimala during the forthcoming monthly puja period as it had stocked 200 lakh litres of water at the Sannidhanam as on Monday.
However, the check-dam should be cleared of earth in a time-bound manner to avoid water scarcity during the annual pilgrimage season, they said.