Pampa buses await pilgrims

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has made necessary arrangements to ply buses from Ernakulam railway stations to Pampa with the commencement of Sabarimala season on November 15.

According to KSRTC officials, 40 new buses  have been sanctioned to Ernakulam for the pilgrimage season. Currently, the available  services at Ernakulam and the neighbouring depots will be utilised to make up for the existing shortage of buses here till the new buses arrive.

From Thursday, at least four buses will be stationed continuously at the Ernakulam Junction Railway Station from 6 am to 9 pm. Based on the demand and requirement of the pilgrims, more buses will be deployed to the station every fifteen minutes.

A special KSRTC counter will be opened at the station with linguistic experts in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi to aid the pilgrims who alight from trains. Extra drivers and crew will also be deployed to Ernakulam during the Sabarimala season.

More Trains

Meanwhile, the Railways will also operate more trains during the season. From next Thursday, a special train bound for Chennai will operate from the Ernakulam Junction Station. Extra parking areas are being allotted for the special private taxis which will cater to the needs of the pilgrims. Counters of the Ayyappa Seva Sangham will also be set up.

Security

To keep a tab on the security of the public during the season, the Railway Protection Force will deploy 28 more personnel from various divisions to the Ernakulam Junction alone.

They will be entrusted with the task of crowd control, platform control and parking control. Banners and televised scrolls on the dangers of burning camphors on running trains will be displayed.