DIRECT FLIGHT TO AYYAPPA

Kerala’s fifth airport is coming up in the hills of Erumely in Kottayam district, some 54 km from the famous Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.

- Jeemon Jacob

The Rs 3,900-crore project could become a boon for the millions of pilgrims who visit the temple every year , especially from other Indian states and overseas. The Sabarimala greenfield airport project, though, has also come in for criticism—one line being that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Front government is doing “penance” to “appease Hindus” after the 2018 fracas over the entry of women in the hilltop shrine.

The CM’s office, though, denies the very basis of that, saying Pinarayi had listed both the Silver Line (highspeed K-Rail criss-crossing the state) and the Sabarimala airport as priorities when his government first came to power in 2016. The state strategically pushed for the new airport in Erumely after the Union government listed development of small airports promoting religious tourism as a priority area.