Bailey Bridge at Sabarimala to open in November

PATHANAMTHITTA: Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman of the High-Power Committee on Sabarimala Infrastructure  Development K Jayakumar has said that the Bailey bridge at Sabarimala, being built for the pilgrims by the Army as the one-way system after Lord Ayyappa’s darshan, will be dedicated to the pilgrims in the first week of November.Talking to Express, Jayakumar said that the work on the approach road for the Bailey bridge, connecting Malikappuram  with Chandranandan Road, would be completed before the end of this month.He said the installation work on the Bailey bridge had already been completed. Jayakumar said that once the approach roads on both sides are completed, the much-needed one-way system would come true at Sabarimala, paving the way for reducing the overcrowding at the nadapandal and North nada.Army’s request to be consideredJayakumar said that the Army’s request for the payment of Rs 75 lakh towards the expenses for the installation of the bridge would be decided after discussions at Government levels.New Prasadam CountersJayakumar said that for achieving the full benefit of the one-way system through the Bailey bridge, new counters for the distribution of aravana and appam prasadams were planned near the Malikappuram Devi temple. “The need to set up new prasadam distribution counters is felt in the larger interest of the pilgrims who want to go back to Pampa after Ayyappa’s darshan through the Bailey bridge,” he said.Queue ComplexesJayakumar said the work on the queue complexes, the one set up by the High-Power Committee on Sabarimala Infrastructure Development at Sabaripeedom and the other near Saramkuthi by the Travancore Devaswom Board, would be completed before the beginning of the forthcoming pilgrimage season.The Chairman of the High-Power Committee said that the issues connected with the felling of a few trees for the setting up of the queue complexes were sorted out by the Forest Department and the Travancore Devaswom Board and the work on the complexes were progressing well.