Sabarimala, Saturday 20 March 2010: Pilgrims have begun arriving for the 10-day summer festival of the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa, which began here today.

A severe water crunch at the base camp Pampa and the temple uphill, however, is posing difficulties to the devotees, most of whom are from the neighbouring states. The holy river Pampa, where pilgrims take a dip before starting the trek, is totally dried up.

“Taking a dip in the Pampa is an essential part of the pilgrimage. Unfortunately there is no water in the river,” a devotee from Tamil Nadu said. The temple officials said they have urged the irrigation department to open check dams upstream to ease the situation.

Also some restrictions have been imposed by the temple authorities in allotting accommodations at Sannidhanam in view of the situation.