PATHANAMTHITTA: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Wednesday started virtual queue bookings for the upcoming pilgrimage season at Sabarimala temple with a daily cap of 70,000 pilgrims, 10,000 less from an earlier decided limit.
The government had earlier capped the daily limit at 80,000 devotees. While the TDB said a decision on the remaining 10,000 slots will be taken later, sources hinted the slots are being set aside for spot bookings, even though the term ‘spot booking’ may not be used explicitly.
Last year too, 70,000 bookings were allocated for devotees online. Speculations about the government allowing spot bookings emerged after CM Pinarayi Vijayan, while responding to a submission by MLA V Joy, told the assembly on Tuesday that online registration would not be mandatory for darshan at the hill shrine.
‘70k cap suggested, but we raised it to help pilgrims’
Though he did not use the words ‘spot booking’, the CM said devotees coming to Sabarimala without any knowledge about the system and not registering online will also be ensured darshan without hindrances.
The government’s U-turn had come a day before various Hindu organisations were to intensify their protests against its decision to not allow spot bookings.
Earlier this week, the government had ruled out spot booking for Sabarimala darshan, inviting sharp criticism. The UDF, as well as LDF ally CPI, had urged the government to reconsider the decision. The CPI had also warned that the the RSS would exploit the dissent brewing against the move for political gains. A TDB official said though there is a strict mandate for virtual booking, the board anticipates a certain number of pilgrims arriving without prior registration. These reserved slots, said the official, will be allocated to such individuals.
The earlier decision to restrict the number of pilgrims was taken by the government after a series of consultations with different departments, including the police.
TDB president P S Prasanth said, “In fact, the police recommendation was to limit the number to 70,000 per day. The board decided to enhance it to help as many devotees as possible.”