Makara vilakku at Sabarimala man-made

The Temple Affairs Department of the state government on Monday admitted in the Kerala High Court that the makara vilakku at Sabarimala temple was man-made. Considering the counter-affidavit of the department which said the artificial light was part of age-old belief,the court decided not to dig further.

A division bench comprising Justices Thottathil Radakrishnnan and S S Satheesh Chandran was hearing a petition filed by Kerala Yukthivadi Sangam,a rationalist outifit,which said lighting of the makara vilakku using the government machinery was against the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution. The petition,which said the pilgrims were cheated by the artificial light,was moved in the wake of the recent stampede there.