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The annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala by millions of devotees and Christian and Hindu religious conventions held every year on the banks of the Pampa are destroying the river and its environment, say government-instituted studies.

As many as 30 million Hindu pilgrims from across the country travel to Lord Ayyappa's temple deep inside the hill forests of Sabarimala every year. Dozens of tributaries originating from Sabarimala -- surrounded by 18 hills -- join the River Pampa at various spots.

An environment committee of the Kerala assembly, which recently came out with a report on Sabarimala, said the hill shrine faces a grave environmental risk mainly because of the degradation of the Pampa river system.

"The menace posed by pollutants and the stress caused on its fragile environs is a grave threat to the very sanctity of the forest temple at Sabarimala," the report warned.

Another study conducted by the Thiruvananthapuram-based government-funded Centre for Earth Science Studies said the Pampa, the third largest river in Kerala fed by nearly 270 mountain streams, has "reached horrifying levels of pollution and degradation".

The report held a popular Christian convention organised every February by the Mar Thoma Church on the river's bank at Maramon, the annual Hindu festival held at Cherukolpuzha, and the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Sabarimala responsible for this.

Nearly 100,000 devotees attend the Maramon convention, which its organiser, the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association, missionary wing of the Mar Thoma Church, says is the world's largest annual Christian gathering.

A huge shed thatched with coconut palm leaves is erected for the convention on the banks of the River Pampa at Maramon. Temporary bridges, accommodation facilities and toilets are built on the bank for participants to listen to renowned spiritual speakers from across the world.

Similarly, at Cherukolpuzha, Hindus hold their religious festival every year with nearly 50,000 devotees attending.

Scientists and environmentalists lament that these religious gatherings and pilgrimages have destroyed the river, which is vital to Kerala's water system.

"Religious festivals and the pilgrimage to Sabarimala are important to devotees. But they have damaged the Pampa river and considerably upset the ecology of the forest area," P K Krishna Kumar, an environmentalist, told rediff.com

Kumar and other environmentalists have demanded that all religious gatherings on the river's banks be banned forthwith. "The Sabarimala pilgrimage should be carried out in such a fashion that it does not upset the forest ecology," Kumar said.

The CESS study has pointed out that these religious meets produce tons of plastic material and other garbage, which is almost entirely dumped into the river. "The Pampa, which becomes a swirling torrent of muddy waters during the monsoon, turns into patches of stagnant pools during summer," the report says.

A similar study conducted by the Kerala Pollution Control Board has revealed that water contamination in the Pampa is so high that it is unfit for even bathing. "The river water is further being contaminated by the dumping of waste material and sewage from towns, markets, hospitals, rubber factories, and slaughter houses," it says.

According to Thomas John, who heads the Kochi-based Society for Environmental Concern, the 179km long river is the lifeline of central Kerala. "The total catchment area of the Pampa river is 4,569 square kilometres and over 5 million people reside in its basin. So it is criminal that religious meets are being allowed to destroy the most important river in Kerala," he told rediff.com

Adding to the environmentalists' worry is a proposed rail link to Sabarimala, which they say will be an ecological disaster. They warn that the rail line will destroy rare wildlife species and medicinal plants found only in Sabarimala's thick forests.

ALSO SEE:
Environmentalists tick Sabarimala rail link

EXTERNAL LINKS:
Sabarimala: Concern over rise in eco issues
For more on the Sabarimala Yatra
Traditional festivities at Pampa during the pilgrimage season

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