http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_sabarimala-tragedy-could-it-have-been-averted_1495095. Sabarimala is a place in the state of Kerala which thousands of pilgrims visit in December and January.
Sabarimala, the abode of Lord Iyappan, can be accessed from Tenkasi/Shengottah in Tirunelveli district or from Kambam near Madurai or from Patthanamthitta (which can be accessed from Kottayam/Kollam/Ernakulam) in Kerala. Pilgrims go to that temple from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other parts of India.
Only men are allowed to go to the temple. Women between the ages of 10 and 50 are not allowed. The pilgrims practice a 45 day penance - a period during which they abstain from alcohol, meat and lead a simple life. And then they travel to the banks of Pamba river and then there is a 15-20 km final stretch to the Sabarimala temple which one has to walk. The final stretch is through the jungle, the road is unpaved. While I have never made the journey, this description is from my recollection of various conversations I have had with people who have gone there. I could be mistaken about some things I mentioned above!
Now, routine as clockwork each year around this time pilgrims (mostly Hindu, while people of other religion are also welcome) go to Sabarimala and just as predictably about a 100 die because of some accident or the other.
What surprises me is that this is a rather strange way to die. When you know the possibility of death is high, you would try to avoid it. Or maybe not.
Don't we have people going to the North Pole or climbing Mt. Everest or living in Israel or Kashmir or working in the army where death is a part of life everyday? Maybe, people have accepted the probability of earlier death. And perhaps both the travelers and the government believe that the "dangerous" journey is worth undertaking and that death/accidents are a price to be paid for making the journey.
How else would the government (Kerala govt. in this case, but is it any different in other states?) keep making the same mistake? is it stupidity of the highest order or a brave way of embracing death?
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