Devaswom Board to Introduce Rs 3 Lakh Insurance Coverage for Sabarimala Pilgrims
The Travancore Devaswom Board has announced a big step to improve safety for devotees visiting the Sabarimala temple by offering an insurance coverage scheme worth Rs 3 lakh for pilgrims. This plan, supported by a Rs 5 lakh contribution from the board to create a Sabarimala Relief Fund, aims to provide financial help to pilgrims traveling the tough routes to the sacred shrine.
To pay for this new scheme, the Devaswom Board will charge a small fee of Rs 5 for online Virtual Q queue bookings, a decision made during a board meeting on Thursday. The money from this fee will go straight into the Sabarimala Relief Fund. The board is also thinking about getting sponsors to add more money to the fund, making sure it can keep going and help more people.
The insurance will cover all deaths that happen along the main pilgrimage paths, including Erumeli to Sannidhanam, Erumeli Kanamala - Nilakkal - Sannidhanam, Nilakkal - Pamba - Sannidhanam, Vandiperiyar Sathram - Pullumedu Sannidhanam, and the forest route. Unlike the current accident insurance, which gives up to Rs 5 lakh but only for accidental deaths in safe zones, the new plan will help with a wider range of problems, including health issues during the journey.
This decision comes after last season’s pilgrimage, where 37 devotees passed away for different reasons, but only 11 had insurance. Seeing this issue, Devaswom Board President P.S. Prashanth and member Adv. A. Ajikumar pushed to protect pilgrims who die from heart failure or other physical problems during their climb. The new scheme will work alongside the existing accident insurance, though pilgrims can only claim one of the two. The plan will be ready before the next pilgrimage season.
This move also follows a High Court order from 12 years ago, which told the board to provide insurance for Sabarimala pilgrims. With the rollout planned before the next season, the Devaswom Board is taking a key step to meet this requirement while improving pilgrim welfare.