(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) New Delhi: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy wrote to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday (Dec 16) requesting him to deploy adequate personnel and staff at Sabarimala temple to reduce waiting time for devotees. In the letter, the Union Minister has highlighted the heavy rush at the Sabarimala shrine and therefore requested the Chief Minister to ensure that basic amenities such as food, water, access to hygiene sanitation facilities and medical assistance are provided to the devotees on their journey to Sabarimala.

Taking to his social media handle X, Reddy posted, "Wrote a letter to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to address issues and inconveniences being faced by the Lord Ayyappa devotees during their pilgrimage to Sabarimala. I also requested to ensure adequate staff and personnel, safe and secure passage, improved basic amenities and medical assistance during their journey to Sabarimala."

In his letter, Reddy wrote, "The Sabarimala Temple and the associated 40-day spiritual journey undertaken by the devotees of Lord Ayyappa are considered to be one of the most revered belief systems within the Hindu faith."

"You would be aware that every year close to 1 crore devotees visit Sabarimala, with a majority of them paying their respects to Lord Ayyappa during the Mandala season between November and January. Devotees from the Telugu states of Telangana, where I hail from, and Andhra Pradesh account for more than 15 lakh devotees," it read.

It is of vital importance that the devotees availing of Lord Ayyappa's Darshan are provided a safe and secure passage without any inconveniences. The Government of India is ready to support initiatives in this regard, added the letter.

"I would also like to request that you consider permitting NGOs that are ready to provide assistance to operate on the temple premises and around the trekking path from Pampa to Sannidhanam," it stated.

Earlier on Friday, Hindu Aikya Vedi staged a protest march against the Kerala government in front of the Travancore Devaswom Board head office, citing a lack of basic amenities at the Sabarimala shrine. Days before, a spike in pilgrims put a strain on the hill temple's crowd control system, resulting in lengthy lines and hours of waiting for the pilgrims to receive the Darshan. This was when the protests took place.

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