All except five victims came from other south Indian states
and were returning from the nearby tiger reserve area where some 125,000 people
converged during the mad rush to watch the 'divine' light. Critics say the
authorities were not giving enough publicity to the fact that it was man-made
fearing loss of devotees.
Kandarararu Maheshwararu, the supreme priest of the temple,
clarified that Makara Jyoti is a star and Makara Vilakku a ritual of lighting
atop the hill, facilitated by the officials of the Kerala State Electricity
Board.
The fact was known to people of Kerala and the state's then
temple affairs minister G Sudhakaran had confirmed this two years back.
However, devotees from other states continued to rush to enjoy the bliss.
Not satisfied by the clarification of Travancore Devaswam
Board's (TDB) counsel, the division bench of Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan
and Justice PS Gopinathan wanted to know why adequate security was not being
provided in the area and why the authorities want to keep the mystery alive.
"People have every right to know the truth behind the
Jyoti," the bench which was monitoring the pilgrimage this season said.
“If you provide unrestricted flow of pilgrims, necessary safeguards needs to be
issued or completely prevent the pilgrims from taking the Pullmedu route (where
the tragedy struck Friday evening).”
It observed that there was lack of coordination between
various departments which led to the tragedy and also wanted to know the
difference between 'Makara Jyothi' and 'Makara Vilakku.
The court had the other day pulled up the government for
it's callous attitude and delay in reaching essential services to the area. The
chief minister reached the area the next day while Home Minister Kodiyeri
Balakrishnan was away in Kolkata attending the politburo meeting of his party.
Reacting to the court's comments, chief minister VS
Achuthanandan said his Government had no plans to probe whether it was a divine
phenomenon or man-made as essentially it was a matter of faith for millions.
"The
Government is neither going to consult astrologers or materialist scientists to
ascertain the veracity of Makarajothi, which millions believe as divine and
throng the temple with intense wish to sight it," the veteran communist
told reporters here.
