PATHANAMTHITTA: The Sabarimala temple opened for the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage on Friday, marking the beginning of the two-month-long pilgrimage season. Melsanthi P N Mahesh Namboothiri, the outgoing head priest, opened the sanctum sanctorum in the presence of thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru and Kandararu Brahmadathan.
It was followed by the opening of Upadevatha temples and the transfer of the sacred fire to the ‘aazhi’ (holy fireplace). To avoid devotees’ rush, the sanctum sanctorum opened an hour earlier than the usual 5pm.
Installation ceremony
Installation of the newly selected melsanthis for Lord Ayyappa temple and Malikappuram Devi temple — S Arun Kumar Namboothiri and Vasudevan Namboothiri — was performed on the day.
In Sabarimala, the thantri performed ‘kalasabhishekam’ on S Arun Kumar Namboothiri in front of the sreekovil. Later, he led Aruk Kumar into the Sreekovil and passed on Lord Ayyappa’s ‘moolamanthram’ in his ear. A similar ceremony was performed in Malikappuram temple.
At 11 pm, P N Mahesh Namboothiri handed over the key of the sreekovil to S Arun Kumar Namboothiri.
At 3 am on Saturday, the newly-inducted melshanthi will open the sreekovil.
As the annual pilgrimage season commenced on Friday, dignitaries led by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and TDB president P S Prasanth reviewed the arrangements. Vasavan also inaugurated two newly renovated guest houses at Sannidhanam and Pampa.
According to officials, 13,665 police personnel will be deployed in six phases, and the entire pilgrimage zone has been put under a strict surveillance network. In the first phase on Friday, around 1,500 police personnel led by Sabarimala police special officer K E Biju were deployed at Sannidhanam. The team of police personnel who help the devotees climb the Holy Steps will be changed every 15 minutes.
Parking facilities at Nilackal have been significantly expanded to accommodate 10,000 vehicles, with an additional provision for 700 smaller vehicles at Pampa. New Fire Force centres were inaugurated at Pampa and Sannidhanam. Temporary fire stations have been established at eight key locations, including Erumely and Pandalam, with approximately 2,000 personnel and 500 volunteers on duty.
District Fire Officers have been appointed separately at Pampa and Sannidhanam. Advanced communication systems, including a troop carrier equipped with repeaters and walkie-talkies, have been arranged for firefighting duties at Pampa and Sannidhanam.
As many as 18 scuba divers have been deployed at nine bathing ghats en route to the hill shrine that are identified as dangerous.
VIRTUAL QUEUE BOOKING
On a full day, 70,000 people will get a chance for darshan via virtual queue and 10,000 devotees can avail spot booking. On Friday, around 30,000 devotees booked for darshan through virtual queue as it opened in the evening. Online booking is full for the first week.