Come November 15 and all roads will lead to Sabarimala with pilgrims clad in black coming from all parts of the country for a darshan of Lord Ayyappa.
The number of devotees that flock to the hill shrine 1,535 feet above the sea level during the 61-day season would roughly equate to the population of the state, about three crore.
According to an official announcement four years back, the season generates a revenue worth Rs 10,000 crore to the state exchequer through various sources.
The revenue will flow from taxes accruing from the sale of petrol and diesel, collection at check posts and toll gates, bus and rail travel, auction of parking lots, toilets and offerings at temples under the Devaswom Board.
The revenue earned by private enterprises such as hotels and restaurants, taxi services and so on is in addition to this.
Nearly 25,000 government officials, including police personnel, will be involved in keeping the machinery running during the November-January window (Thulam 30 to Makaram 5). At an average 15 per cent rise in revenue in the form of offerings and prasadams at Sabarimala, it is expected that Rs 200 crore will be the collection at sannidhanam this season.
Against this, between the last two state budgets, Rs 40 crore had been allotted as Sabarimala expenditure, Rs 25 crore for implementing various projects envisaged in the Sabarimala Master
Plan out of which projects worth Rs18-crore were completed.
Perhaps, too little a spend to have any visible impact on the sea of worshipers, mostly from the three southern states and one Union Territory, with Andhra Pradesh accounting for more than half the pilgrims.
Speaking to Express, former Chief Secretary and Chief Devaswom Commissioner K Jayakumar said: “During the last two years, the state government made budgetary allocation of Rs 40 crore. Of this, Rs 15 crore was already transferred to Sabarimala Master Plan Infrastructure Trust Fund. Projects like renovation of Swami Ayyappan Road, Nilackal parking area and interior road works were implemented under the budgetary funds.”
