Sabarimala temple remains closed for pilgrims
Sabarimala (Kerala) Aug 23 : The Sabarimala temple in Kerala will remain closed to the public until further notice due to the overflowing Pamba river, authorities said on Thursday.
The temple was closed on August 13 following massive floods.
According to the temple authorities, the floods have caused damage worth Rs 100 crore to its infrastructure. A.Padmakumar, President of the Travancore Devasom Board which manages the Sabarimala temple, told the media that they had no other option but to close it down.
The sluice gates of two dams that forms a part of the Sabarigiri project, was opened after heavy rains and subsequent floods ravaged places in and around the temple town.
However, all the religious rituals of the temple will be conducted. Following the decision, several pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had planned for a pilgrimage have cancelled their trip.
The temple is open only during from the middle of November till the middle of January, but for several years now, it is kept open for a few days at the start of every Malayalam month which falls during the middle of every month.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13; body of last missing person recovered
Jabalpur (PTI): The bodies of a five-year-old boy and his uncle were recovered from Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Sunday morning, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy to 13, police said.
The boat, around 20 years old and operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening.
"The bodies of Mayuram (5) and his uncle Kamraj (around 50), an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, were found floating and were fished out of the dam," Bargi Sub Divisional Officer of Police Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI over the phone.
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All 13 missing persons identified have now been accounted for, he said, adding the bodies were sent to a government hospital for postmortem.
Teams comprising around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, along with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, were involved in the search operation, the police said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the vessel, 28 were rescued after the incident, according to the police.
The CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat, though the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far, they said.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members. It also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
