DigitEye India Fact Checkers
As tensions in Sabarimala are reaching new heights, a group of social media users has now claimed that the Kerala police along with the help of fire service personnel is trying to obstruct the path of pilgrims by flooding Sannidhanam, the pathway to reach the Sanctum Sanctorum along with other temple premises.
Several pictures that show police and fire force officials watering the temple grounds have already gone viral on social media platforms and it has made many right-wing supporters believe that the LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan is intentionally trying to obstruct Hindu devotees.
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“#Shop is a mess, the members of the committee are now showing off to the obedient, who throng the Hindu temples. They are the ones who buy. Why they are doing all this,” says the translated version.
So, what is the ground reality? Is the police trying to turn the pathway muddy to obstruct the journey of devotees? Let us check out.
A police officer who spoke to Digit Eye India has revealed that they recurrently pump water on the ground to reduce the surface temperature at the temple. He also added that this activity is very common in Sabarimala, and has been performed there over many years without raising any eyebrows.
In another picture, we can see police pumping water in front of the Sannidhanam hospital as well. An official, on the condition of anonymity, told Digit Eye India that this act has been carried out to sanitize the area in and around the hospital. If obstructing the devotees is the motive, why should a hospital be the venue for such watering, said officials familiar with the temple affairs.
“Nadapanthal (the temple pathway) is the place which should be cleaned every day. Police is doing their duty, and we always try to give the maximum convenience for the devotees,” said the police officer, who was from Kerala Armed Police and on security duty in Sannidhanam.
It should be also noted that the pathway from Pampa valley to Sannidhanam is made of concrete, and it usually gets heated, which can become very uncomfortable for the devotees to walk on without any footwear. This correspondent himself has seen officials pouring water on these pathways during hot summer days to reduce the heat on roads and not to obstruct devotees, as claimed in the above-cited Facebook messages.
Conclusion: This claim by the facebook posts is totally false, posted to incite sentiments and our rating for this is ????? Totally False.
