The production of Aravana should be ramped up and good quality cans for packing the item must be procured to meet the increasing demand during the ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the Sabarimala Special Commissioner has informed the Kerala High Court.
In a report, the special commissioner said the supplier of cans for packing Aravana was tardy in supplying the required number. A total of 1.5 crore cans may be required during the ongoing pilgrimage season. Of the 8,00,000 supplied so far, as many as 2,13,088 cans of Aravana were distributed in one-and-a-half days. Besides, valuable time was lost due to breakage of cans during packing, resulting in stoppage of the packing machine and cleaning. If the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is sourcing the cans from a single supplier, there will be an acute shortage of Aravana during the coming days.
The commissioner also sought a directive to the TDB to take steps to negotiate with other sources, including the supplier in the previous year, for procuring good quality cans.
When the report came up for hearing, the court warned the TDB that if any shortfall in the distribution of Aravana was caused, stringent action would be taken against the persons responsible.