Sabarimala Temple: With Pilgrims Coming In Large Numbers, Revenue Touches Rs 100 Crore In 27 Days

With everything quiet at the famed Sabarimala temple and pilgrims coming in large numbers, its revenue on the 27th day of its opening for the festival season has touched Rs 100 crore, up from Rs 60 crore in the previous year, according to temple officials.

The new two-month long pilgrimage season of the Sabarimala temple opened for the pilgrims on 17 November.

The revenue is generated by way of offerings and sale of "Appom" and "Aravana (payasem)" as the "prasad" and through cash and coins.

The total collection of cash and coins this time has gone up from Rs 21 crore to Rs 35 crore.

The same time, last year, after the Supreme Court ruled that the temple should be open to women of all age groups, trouble broke out when the temple town was taken over by angry right wing protesters, swearing that the customs and traditions of the temple will not be breached and the Kerala Police on the other hand determined to see that they will abide by the apex court order and will take any women to the temple top.

This time however, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has made it very clear this season that they will not make any effort to take any women in the banned age group into the temple.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)