A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday slammed the dolly operators at Sabarimala for going on a flash strike at Pampa on Tuesday in protest against the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) move to introduce prepaid counters for the dolly carriage services.
The Bench comprising Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. also asked the TDB and Chief Police Coordinator to ensure that such strikes did not take place at Sabarimala in the future.
The court observed that no such protest as proposed by the dolly operators could be permitted at Pampa or along the trekking paths. The Bench added that Sabarimala is a place of worship and no such protest or strike could be allowed there. In case the dolly workers had any grievances, they should have brought them to the TDB in advance and should not have raised such issues during the Sabarimala festival season, causing inconvenience to the pilgrims, particularly aged, disabled or the ailing pilgrims who reached Pampa in anticipation of travelling in dollies. The court asked who would be responsible if something happened to the ailing or disabled pilgrims who were trekking without using the dollies. The dolly operators could not use such kinds of pressure tactics.
The court also asked the Chief Police Coordinator to file a detailed report on the strike and an explanation on how he would ensure that such strikes did not happen at Sabarimala.
The court passed the order when suo motu cases relating to the arrangements regarding the Sabarimala festival came up for hearing.
Published – December 04, 2024 08:09 pm IST
