PATHANAMTHITTA: The Kerala Devaswom Board has decided to limit the virtual queue bookings for Sabarimala Temple darshan to 80,000 devotees per day. As part of this limitation, the police aim to allow an average of 3,800 to 4,000 devotees to visit the Sannidhanam.
This decision by the Devaswom Board authorities follows numerous criticisms faced by the State Devaswom Board regarding crowd management and mistreatment of devotees at Sabarimala Temple. The Board has specified that spot booking facilities will also be limited, except for emergency situations.
In light of this limitation, devotees will only be allowed to proceed from Pampa based on the crowd at Sannidhanam, with an expected walk of around 6 hours for devotees from Pamba to Sannidhanam. Presently, devotees have reportedly had to endure waiting in long queues for over 20 hours at Sannidhanam. However, the Board has failed to arrange basic facilities for the devotees in these queues, causing discomfort to several devotees from Kerala and other states, leading to distress.
During the first 19 days of the Mandalam season, an average of 62,000 devotees visited the Sannidhanam per day. However, from December 6 onwards, there has been an increase, with approximately 88,000 devotees visiting per day.
Furthermore, the Devaswom Board President PS Prashanth, admitted the board’s failure in crowd management at Sabarimala. He also acknowledged faults in arranging vehicle parking facilities at Nilakkal. He mentioned that there is a parking facility for 7,000 vehicles and assured the appointment of special security personnel to manage it effectively. Additionally, he stated that the board has requested more KSRTC bus facilities for Pamba.
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