PATHANAMTHITTA: With the Mandala-Makaravilakku season witnessing a steady rise in pilgrim inflow, authorities have limited spot booking for darshan at 5,000 for Tuesday, even as the total footfall at Sabarimala crossed 7.5 lakh by Monday evening. Authorities also confirmed that the virtual queue booking will allow darshan access for up to 70,000 pilgrims.
Despite a surge in pilgrim turnout, smooth darshan continued at the hill shrine on Monday, the ninth day of the annual pilgrim season.
A total of 90,393 devotees had offered prayers at the hill shrine by 7pm on Monday. The rush remained high throughout the day, with long queues from early morning, yet darshan was completed without long waiting hours.
On Sunday, 84,605 pilgrims had darshan at the shrine. Officials expect the numbers of devotees to rise in the coming days. Meanwhile, cool weather and intermittent rain continued in the Sabarimala hills.
Tight security and real-time monitoring
Elaborate security arrangements remain in effect across Sannidhanam and base stations. Continuous surveillance is being maintained through around 450 CCTV cameras, jointly monitored by the police and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). Dedicated control rooms ensure round-the-clock monitoring of all major points -- enabling quick intervention in case of emergencies or crowd surges. Nearly 90 cameras overseen by the police cover critical spots from Chalakkayam to Pandithavalam, while 345 TDB cameras focus on high-density locations including Marakkoottam, the flyover, Valiyanadappanthal, Sopanam and Malikappuram.
Drinking water supply
To ensure unhindered access to clean drinking water, the Water Authority has set up 193 kiosks from Pampa to the upper reaches of Sannidhanam supported by modern purification and distribution systems, while 105 kiosks have been installed along the pilgrim pathway from Pampa to Nadappanthal.
The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the engineer in charge of the Achankovil–Konni road, extensively used by Sabarimala devotees, to file a statement on the measures taken to repair the road. The court had earlier directed that the road, which was in a dilapidated condition, should be repaired before the Sabarimala pilgrimage season.
The directive comes in continuation of a previous order issued in September by a division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K V Jayakumar, which instructed various departments to take coordinated action to ensure proper maintenance of all roads used by pilgrims.
The court had also asked the amicus curiae for the special commissioner to examine and report on deficiency. During the hearing on Monday, the amicus curiae submitted that all the other aspects have been complied with the exception of the Achankovil-Konni road.