Sabarimala Airport Clearance; Great news for spiritual tourism, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday welcomed the Civil Aviation Ministry’s site clearance for a greenfield airport project at Sabarimala and termed it as “great news for spiritual tourism”. The Civil Aviation Ministry had on April 13 informed the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (KSIDC) about the site clearance for the airport that would come up close to the famed Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.

The ministry also asked the KSIDC to proceed with the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and to send that along with an application for a grant of ‘in-principle’ approval to it for further necessary action. Last week, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the groundwork for building a new airport at Sabarimala has started after obtaining the necessary permissions.

During the two-month annual pilgrimage season in November-December, lakhs of pilgrims arrive at the shrine from various parts of the country and also abroad. In the 2022 season, the Travancore Devaswom Board stated that nearly 30 lakh pilgrims visited the temple.