Privacy Policy

Who we are

Sabari Portal (sabariportaldcpta.in) is the official information and duty-management portal of the District Administration, Pathanamthitta, for the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The WhatsApp Help Desk on +91 94009 67300 is part of the same service. The District Administration decides how this information is used and is responsible for it.

WhatsApp Help Desk

When you send a message to the Help Desk, we receive and store:

• your WhatsApp phone number and the profile name you have set in WhatsApp;
• the messages you send us and the menu options you choose, with the date and time;
• the replies we send and their delivery status (sent, delivered, read).

We use this only to reply to you, to keep the service working, to prevent misuse and to improve the information we give. Replies come from an automated system that answers only after you write to us. We cannot read photos, voice notes or files you send.

Government duty staff: if your WhatsApp number is the one registered in your duty application, the Help Desk matches it with your staff record so that it can show you your own duty details (duty point, dates, training and order number). Nobody else can see your details through the Help Desk. We may also send you official notifications about your duty on WhatsApp.

Messages travel through WhatsApp, a service of Meta Platforms. Meta processes them under the WhatsApp Business Terms and its own privacy policy.

The website

• Public pages (information, maps, notices, helplines) need no sign-in and do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
• Feedback form: we store your rating, your message and, only if you give it, your phone number, so that an officer can call you back. Your internet address is not stored, only a one-way code made from it to stop repeated spam.
• Official login is for government officers and staff. It uses a session cookie to keep you signed in. Staff records (name, PEN, designation, office, mobile number, email, duty details) are used only to organise and verify Sabarimala duty.

Who can see your information

• Officers of the District Administration and the departments working on Sabarimala duty, only as far as their work needs it.
• Our technical service providers (web hosting, and Meta for WhatsApp), only to run the service.
• Authorities, when the law requires it.

We do not sell, rent or share your information for marketing or advertising.

How long we keep it

• WhatsApp messages and contact details: 7 days from your last message, then deleted automatically. We keep only daily totals (number of people, questions, replies and failed replies), with no phone numbers or message text. If you sent STOP, we keep your number only so that we do not send you notifications, until you send START.
• Feedback: for as long as needed to act on it and to report on the season.
• Staff and duty records: as long as government record-keeping rules require, because they are part of official duty orders.

Your choices and deleting your data

• Send STOP to the WhatsApp Help Desk to stop notifications, and START to turn them on again.
• Your WhatsApp messages and number are deleted automatically 7 days after your last message. To have them deleted sooner, email us from the contact below with your WhatsApp number and we will delete them and confirm by email.
• Staff who want to correct their details (for example a wrong mobile number) should contact their office or the deployment cell at the Collectorate.

Security

The portal uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. Messages from WhatsApp are checked to make sure they really come from Meta. Access to staff and message records is limited to signed-in officers who need it.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we use information, we will update this page and the date at the top.