News Brief
Sabarimala Temple Makaravilakku Preparations: Spot Booking Capped At 5,000 Daily To Manage Festival Crowds —All You Need to Know
The Sabarimala temple. (Shankar/The India Today Group/Getty Images)
The Sabarimala temple is making extensive preparations for the Makaravilakku festival, which marks the culmination of the Mandala pilgrimage season.
The Thiruvabharanam procession, a key ritual, will commence from the Valiya Koyikkal Temple in Pandalam at 1 pm on 12 January, following darshan and ceremonies.
The procession will rest at Ayiroor Puthiyakavu temple at 9.30 pm before resuming at 3 am on 13 January and halting at Laha at 9 pm.
On 14 January, it will leave Laha and reach Sabaripeetha at 4 pm, proceeding through Pandithavalam, Cherianavattom, Neelimala, and Apachimedu before arriving at Sannidhanam at 5.30 pm via Saramkuthi.
In response to the anticipated surge in devotees, crowd management measures have been implemented, including limiting the spot booking facility at Sannidhanam to 5,000 devotees per day rom 8 January to 15 January and capping virtual queue bookings.
Virtual queue bookings on the Devaswom Board website have been capped at 60,000 for 12 January, 50,000 for 13 January, and 40,000 for 14 January, the day of Makara Jyoti.
This decision follows a directive from the Kerala High Court to ensure efficient crowd control during the festival season.
Police inspections will be conducted at Nilakkal before allowing devotees to proceed to Pampa. Guidelines will be implemented to regulate cooking and other activities in the paranasal areas.
Additional security measures are being undertaken at locations designated for Jyoti Darshan.
Police have made arrangements to ensure the safety of pilgrims along the procession route.
Between 15 November, when the pilgrimage season began, and 5 January, a record 39,02,610 Ayyappa devotees visited the shrine, compared to 35,12,691 during the same period last year.
From 30 December to 7 January, marking the Makaravilakku season, 6,22,849 devotees visited the temple, according to the state police media centre.
