It has been decided to limit the crowd of devotees during Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala temple

Thiruvananthapuram: It has been decided to restrict the number of people who may reserve a space at Sannidhanam to 5000 each day starting tomorrow (January 8) and ending on January 15 in order to avoid overwhelming devotees during the Makaravilaku festival at the Sabarimala temple.

The Hon. Kerala High Court’s directive for effective crowd control at the Sabarimala temple during festival seasons served as the foundation for the ruling. On the Devaswom board website, reservations via the virtual line are set at 60,000 on January 12, 50,000 on January 13, and 40,000 on January 14. Additionally, it is not recommended that devotees camp on the mound. Makara Jyoti Day is January 14.

Devotees often begin waiting for the Jyoti in Parnasalas on the tenth. Preparations are thus underway to prevent the potential throng on Makaravilakku day.

Police would scrutinize the devotees near Nilakkal before allowing them to enter Pampa, in addition to restricting spot booking. To regulate the cooking and other activities of the devotees seated in the paranasal, the police will put the rules into effect. To guarantee security at the several locations set up for Jyoti Darshan, a number of measures are being implemented.

Following the darshan of devotees and other festivities, the Thiruvabharnam procession will depart from the Valiya Koyikkal Temple in Pandalam for Sabarimala at 1 pm on the 12th. At nine thirty at night, they would repose in the Ayiroor Puthiyakavu temple after visiting other temples and receiving darshan facilities. The procession will halt at Laha around 9 p.m. on the 13th after departing at 3 a.m.

It will depart Laha at 4 p.m. on the 14th, Makaravilaku, and go via Pandithavalam, Cherianavattom, Neelimala, and Apachimedu to arrive in Sabaripeetha. It will thereafter be delivered by Saramkuthi to the Sannidhanam at 5:30 p.m. To guarantee the pilgrims’ safety on the procession routes, the police are making the required preparations.

The significant rise in pilgrims is proof that police preparations were successful in guaranteeing a secure and orderly darshan. From the start of the pilgrimage on November 15 to January 5 of this year, a record 39,02,610 Ayyappa devotees visited the temple. During the same time last year, 3,512,691 devotees came. According to the state police media center, 622,849 individuals visited the shrine from December 30, when the Makaravilaku season started, until Monday.