THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shanghumugham beach is all set to welcome a huge number of devotees for the vavubali on Wednesday. The bali which begins at 2.30 am is expected to be on till 12.30 pm.
Tents have been erected along the right side of the beach for devotees to offer bali. At the two mandapams set up by the Travancore Devaswom Board, 1,000 devotees can offer bali at a time. "While tickets for the same were sold in advance to devotees, eight additional counters have been set up near the mandapams," said Sreenivasan S, Devaswom subgroup officer, Shanghumugham.
Due to sea erosion, people will be allowed to enter only one section of the beach. The rest of the area has been blocked with wooden and steel fences. "Last year, about 12,000 people had come to the beach for balitharpan. This time, we are expecting up to 15,000 devotees," said Sreenivasan.
The Devaswom Board is not the only body which has set up its own bali mandapams. Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has built a tent to accommodate devotees. "Close to 300 people can offer bali here at a time. Like the Devaswom Board, we have also set up a shower facility for devotees," said VHP district convener Sandeep S.
Although only one entrance has been set up, devotees can use multiple exits from the beach after offering bali. According to an official, about 35 lifeguards have been deployed, including 15 from the Devaswom Board and the rest from the Tourism Department. "Our duty began on Tuesday evening and will end after Karkkidakavavu. As other organisations have built tents at the beach, we wouldn't know the exact number of people visiting," said Shishupalan N, a lifeguard. He also expressed his concern over managing the crowd coming to other tents.
In addition to this, 250 police officers have been deployed to ensure the safety of devotees at the beach.
Devotees can park their vehicles in Tsunami Park and on the roadside near the beach. Streetside vendors will be allotted an exclusive area for their business on the bali day.
Thiruvallam and Varkala are also expecting a huge crowd on Wednesday. As many as 3,000 people can offer bali at the Thiruvallam Sree Parasurama Temple at a time. "Police officers and lifeguards have been deployed to ensure the safety of devotees. We have built around nine bali mandapams," said P S Anitha, Varkala Devaswom administrative officer, Thiruvallam.
P K Lekha, another administrative officer, said, "As we are expecting more devotees from hanghumugham, an additional bali mandapam has been constructed to accommodate about 150 devotees."