The Kerala High Court ordered the end of the ‘Punyam Poonkavanam Project’, or community policing activity, at the famed hilltop Sabarimala shrine in Pathanamthitta district. A preliminary police report revealed the unauthorised collection of funds by the coordinator of the project. The court also directed the state government to take appropriate action based on the police report. The case was initiated after the Kottayam police chief informed the Special Commissioner of the temple about the alleged unauthorise fund collection by the project’s coordinator at Erumeli through a letter in March 2023. A probe was conducted, it revealed that money was being collected from devotees under the name of theproject without proper authorisation. When the court heard about this, it expressed shock over the collection of money from the devotees and ordered the state to stop the project and order the project to be stopped. The temple town was kept clean and it involved the active participation of devotees, the police and other government departments. A key ritual involves carrying ‘Irumudi’, a prayer kit containing coconuts, which must be broken before climbing the temple’s 18 sacred steps. Without the Irumudi, pilgrims are not allowed to ascend the steps to the sanctum sanctorum. It is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in India.
