Aadhaar must for Sabarimala spot booking
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has clarified that Aadhaar card, or a copy, is mandatory for spot booking of darshan at the hill shrine in Sabarimala. The board has also banned the use of mobile phones around the shrines of Lord Ayyappa and Goddess Malikappurathamma during the upcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku season.
These were announced by TDB president P S Prasanth and members A Ajikumar and G Sundaresan at a press meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. This time, TDB has renamed spot booking as “entry point booking”.
“This is because it is different from the previous year’s spot booking where details of just one person in a group was recorded while granting passes. This year, every person has to provide Aadhaar number or ID proofs like passport or voter’s card,” the TDB president said.
The board said it will allow 10,000 bookings at the entry point per day, in addition to the 80,000 advance online bookings.
“The smartphone ban is to prevent devotees from photographing the insides of the sanctum sanctorum. They should switch off their phones before climbing the 18 holy steps. The ban will be enforced strictly,” Prasanth said.
Parking at Pampa
Parking of small vehicles will be allowed at Pampa. Vehicles can be parked at Chakkupalam and hilltop. A maximum of 1,500 vehicles can be parked in these areas. The parking area in Nilakkal has been enhanced, where 10,000 vehicles can be parked. At Erumely, the Kerala State Housing Board will open a new parking space on 6.5 acres. The charge will be the same as that of TDB’s parking lot.
Medical team
A team of around 100 doctors, called ‘Devotees of Doctors’ under the leadership of neurologist Dr Ram Narayan, will offer voluntary service to the pilgrims. They will be stationed at TDB’s old Ayyappa Hospital at Pampa. The team will bring cardiology equipment, including echocardiogram, and medicines. They will work in coordination with health department.
Ropeway
The TDB plans to lay the foundation stone for the ropeway project during this season. The cabinet is set to approve the project after the model code of conduct is lifted. The total project cost is estimated at `250 crore.