PATHANAMTHITTA: Over 40 lakh pilgrims have visited Sabarimala since the beginning of the annual pilgrimage season, setting a new record for the hill shrine. As of Sunday, a total of 39,02,610 Ayyappa devotees have visited the temple, surpassing last year’s record of 35,12,691 devotees during the same period.
With the Makaravilakku festival just a week away, authorities are preparing for the expected surge in visitors. The police are taking special precautions to manage the crowd on the day. They are advocating for the complete suspension of spot bookings to prevent overcrowding, and are considering conducting inspections at Nilakkal before permitting pilgrims to proceed to Pampa.
Change in entry timings from Sathram
In light of the growing number of pilgrims, authorities have revised the entry timings for pilgrims travelling from Sathram to Pullumedu for the Sabarimala Makaravilakku Mahotsavam. The new entry window is from 7.00 am to 12.00 pm, replacing the previous timing of 7.00 am to 1.00 pm. This change is in response to concerns over security and crowd management along the forest route during late hours.
Meanwhile, the entry timings through Azhuthakadavu and Mukkuzhi remain unchanged, allowing pilgrims to enter until 4.00 pm.
MAKARAVILAKU: SPOT BOOKING LIMITED TO 5,000 TILL JANUARY 15
T’PURAM: The daily spot booking will be limited to 5,000 people at Sabarimala from Wednesday until January 15 to prevent overcrowding during the Makaravilakku festival. The decision follows a Kerala High Court’s direction for efficient crowd management during festival seasons at Sabarimala.
This year’s Makara Jyoti day falls on January 14. The limit for virtual queue bookings has been fixed at 60,000 on January 12; 50,000 on January 13 and 40,000 on January 14. Devotees have been advised not to camp on the hillock. As part of the custom, devotees usually wait in parnasalas from January 10 waiting for the Jyoti. This apart, the police will inspect devotees at Nilakkal before allowing them to enter Pampa. The police will implement the guidelines to control cooking and other activities by devotees waiting in parnasalas.