The Sabrimala temple received record bookings for darshan as over 1 lakh devotees thronged the temple.

Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 26 (ANI): Kerala High Court set aside the Vigilance probe in the mining of flood-accumulated sand from the Triveni bank of river Pampa in Kerala.

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], December 11 (ANI): In view of decline in COVID cases, Kerala government has decided to give more relaxations in restrictions imposed for Sabarimala pilgrimage.

Kochi Nov 17 PTI In the wake of news reports that halal jaggery was being used to prepare Aravana and appam for distribution at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala a plea was moved in Kerala High Court on Wednesday for stopping its use forthwith The high court sought a report on the issue from the Special Commissioner Sabarimala by Thursday The petitioner S J R Kumar sought directions to the Travancore Devaswom Board TDB and the Commissionerate of Food Safety Kerala to stop forthwith the distribution of Aravana and appam made of impure halal jaggery and not to use it any further for the preparation of Nivedyamprasad at Sabarimala Temple Aravana a payasam made out of jaggery and rice and appam -- a sweet rice and jaggery based fritter -- are prasadam given to devotees at the Ayyappa temple The issue assumes importance as the two-month-long annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala has commenced and devotees in the thousands would be arriving there during this period During the hearing of the plea the Travancore Devaswom Board TDB and the Commissionerate of Food Safety Kerala told a bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and P G Ajithkumar that the quality of the jaggery used for making Unniyappam and Aravana was being tested in the laboratory at Pampa They also told the court that the quality of the two sweet dishes were being tested in the laboratory at Sannidhanam before distributing the same to the devotees They said that a statement on behalf of the Secretary of TDB and instructions from the Commissionerate of Food Safety Kerala would be placed before the court on Thursday In view of the submissions the court listed the matter for hearing on November 18 PTI HMP APR APR

New Delhi [India], November 15 (ANI): In the wake of heavy rainfall warning issued for various districts in Kerala, including Pathanamthitta, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday appealed to the party workers in the state to be of help in every way possible.

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], November 14 (ANI): A high-level meeting, held by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, has decided to stop spot booking at Sabarimala for three days in the wake of heavy rainfall warning issued for various districts in the state, including Pathanamthitta.

Thiruvananthapuram/Pathanamthitta (Kerala) [India], November 14 (ANI): As Sabarimala reopens for the Mandala-Makaravilakku (Makar Sankranti) festival, the Kerala health minister Veena George said on Sunday that the department has made elaborate arrangements for pilgrims in order to combat the possible spread of COVID-19.

Kochi Oct 22 PTI The water level at many of the major dams in Kerala receded on Friday following a let up in the rains and various district authorities in consultation with the IMD and the state disaster management authority have started closing the shutters which were opened to discharge excess water accumulated due to the downpour in recent days The two Shutters of Cheruthoni dam part of the Idukki reservoir in Kerala which were opened on Tuesday were closed today as the water inflow to the reservoir has reduced To maintain the water level the second and the fourth shutters were closed today However the third shutter was raised to 40 cms and per second 40000 litres of water is being discharged The weather is favourable today Still there is an orange alert for the Idukki dam However there is nothing to worry about the Mullaperiyar dam Irrigation minister Roshy Augustine told the media The water level at Idukki is currently at 23982 ft Meanwhile Pathanamthitta district collector Divya S Aiyer said shutters of Pampa dam were closed as the water level has come down to 74 per cent of the storage capacity of the reservoir The shutters of Kakki dam were brought down to 30 cms Earlier it was raised to 90 cms and then later brought down to 60 cms to discharge water the collector said The shutters of the dams were opened on Tuesday as water in these reservoirs had almost reached the danger levels The three shutters of Cheruthoni dam were raised by 35 centimetres cms releasing one lakh litre of water per second The state witnessed heavy rains during October 15 and 16 resulting in widespread landslides and flooding in south central districts of Kerala besides claiming over 24 lives According to the State Disaster Management Authority from October 12 to October 18 at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains while 702 partially damaged PTI RRT BN BN

Kochi Oct 19 PTI The sluice gates of Idamalayar and Pampa reservoirs were opened early on Tuesday in the wake of increase in the water level and more rains forecast in the coming days in KeralaThe development comes a day after the state government opened the shutters of Kakki and Sholayar dams to release surplus waterThe Ernakulam district administration confirmed the opening of shutters 2 and 3 of Idamalayar dam by 50 centimetres eachOpening of shutters 3 and 4 of the Pampa dam by 45 centimetres each was confirmed by the Pathanamthitta district administrationThe state government on Monday had announced that Idukki dam built across the Periyar river Idamalayar in Ernakulam and Pampa dam in Pathanamthitta were going to be opened on TuesdayEven though rains subsided in several parts of Kerala on Monday after receiving heavy downpour last week the decision to open shutters of these dams was taken as water levels there had reached close to the danger marks and more rains were expected from WednesdayIn view of the prevailing situation and expected worsening of weather conditions the government had on Monday also cancelled pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala for the Thula masam poojasIt had also advised people living in low lying areas and close to the rivers whose dams have been opened or scheduled to be opened to be vigilant and move to the relief camps set up across the state in the wake of the heavy rains which has claimed 38 lives so farAccording to the State Disaster Management Authority SDMA the number of rain-related deaths in Kerala from October 12 to October 18 is 38During the same period at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains while 702 houses have been partially damaged SDMA has said PTI HMP ROH ROH

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 18 (ANI): One more dead body was recovered from a landslide-affected area in Kokkayar of Idukki district, said the district administration.