Food, Water, Sanitation - Three Basic Facilities Missing At Nilakkal Base Camp

Despite the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) making promises to organise the facilities on time for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season, nothing seems to be done so far. Nilakkal base camp lacks the most basic facilities and is proving to be difficult for devotees.

Sanitation facilities and resting places have still not found their place at the base camp, while the supply of water and food is projected to take weeks before it can be made available to devotees. Historically, since about 20 years, the Kerala Water Authority supplies water to the base camp through tankers which fill the water from about 20 kilometres away.

The New Indian Express reported that the pipeline from Moozhiyar is still impending as approval has not been given as yet. Since private vehicles are not allowed beyond Nilakkal, there is a dearth of sanitation facilities for devotees. There are 300 bio-toilets and 850 toilets, but they aren’t any match to the crowd that comes to the base camp.

Three resting places with a capacity of 2,000 each will not be ready for use until another couple of weeks. Usually, pilgrims turn up in lakhs, but accommodation for about 1,000 people is available. Food supply is also limited, and hence, there is a shortage as TDB is yet to complete the complex that will make space for food preparation.