PATHANAMTHITTA: After the heavy footfall witnessed on Monday and Tuesday, Sabarimala recorded a marginal decline in the devotee turnout on Wednesday, with 74,928 pilgrims offering darshan at the hill shrine. Thursday also saw a moderate flow of devotees. With this, the total number of pilgrims who have visited the hill shrine during the Mandalam season has crossed 20 lakh.
A large share of the pilgrims arrived over the past two days was from other states, and nearly 30,000 devotees had completed darshan by 7am on Thursday alone.
Meanwhile, virtual queue bookings for Mandala pooja on December 26 and 27 opened on Thursday. Devotees can reserve slots through the official website, sabarimalaonline.org.
A maximum of 30,000 pilgrims will be allowed through the virtual queue on December 26, while 35,000 slots have been allotted for December 27. In addition, 5,000 spot-booking tokens will be issued on each day.
With the pilgrimage season progressing, temple authorities say the integrated service system ensures that devotees receive water and light refreshments promptly throughout their journey, even during peak rush hours.
Ensuring uninterrupted access to drinking water and light refreshments, the chukkuvellam (dry ginger water) and biscuit distribution network has emerged as an essential support system for pilgrims this season.
The 24x7 service extends across the Neelimala-Urakkuzhi stretch, with 20 chukkuvellam counters and 27 kiosks functioning continuously. The dry ginger water and biscuits are distributed at key points, including Sabaripeedham, Marakkoottam, Saramkuthi, the walkway and Pandithavalam.
Bench on Sabarimala route vandalised
Pathanamthitta: Miscreants vandalised a concrete bench installed for the convenience of Sabarimala devotees and local residents on Wednesday night near Mandiram in Ranni on the Pandalam-Sabarimala Thiruvabharanam route. The Thiruvabharanam Path Protection Committee strongly condemned the incident, terming it a deliberate attempt to sabotage public amenities. Committee general secretary Prasad Kuzhikkala warned that the committee would launch protests if strict action is not taken against the vandals