Dolly workers stage flash strike over pre-paid counters, withdraw later

The workers had striked as TDB announced plans to set up prepaid counters to standardise fares

The dolly workers at Sabarimala staged a flash strike at Pampa on Tuesday, protesting the Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) move to introduce prepaid counters for the dolly carriage service.

The strike came in the wake of a meeting convened by the TDB on Monday evening, where authorities announced plans to set up prepaid counters to standardise fares. The system proposed fixing rates for a single trip to the Sannidhanam and a round trip from the Pampa base camp, categorised by the weight of devotees.

Commenting on the move, a TDB official said the proposal followed a direction by the High Court to curb the overcharging of devotees. “The recent arrest of four dolly workers for attempting to overcharge and misbehave with devotees prompted the Board too highlighted the need for implementing the system,” he pointed out.

However, the dolly workers opposed the proposal, arguing that the rates fixed by the TDB did not reflect the physical labour involved. In response, they abruptly called a strike from Monday midnight onwards, causing inconvenience to hundreds of devotees arriving at Pampa.

The protest was withdrawn later on Tuesday following discussions with Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Arun S. Nair. The ADM assured the protesters that their concerns would be addressed and the possibility of revising the rates would be explored.

The dolly service, an age-old tradition, is vital for elderly devotees and those with physical disabilities visiting the hill shrine. This season, the TDB has issued permits to approximately 1,750 dolly carriers. Each dolly, carried by a team of four men, transports devotees on the five-kilometre uphill trek from Pampa to Sannidhanam and back.

Published - December 03, 2024 07:13 pm IST