PATHANAMTHITTA: With barely 20 days remaining for the start of the Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is yet to open the mandatory virtual queue bookings. The delay has caused concerns among devotees, especially those from outside Kerala, as the schedule of their journey to the hill shrine remains uncertain.
The Mandala pilgrimage begins on the first day of the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (November 17), with the ceremonial opening of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple at 5pm on November 16. The temple will remain open till the Mandala Pooja on December 27. It will reopen on December 30 for the Makaravilakku festival, which falls on January 14, 2026, and the temple will finally close on January 20, after the completion of the pilgrimage season.
Virtual queue booking is mandatory for darshan at Sabarimala. However, with the booking portal yet to open, devotees -- particularly from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra -- are unable to make travel arrangements or reserve train tickets in advance. Many are now waiting anxiously for an announcement from the devaswom board regarding the schedule for online booking.
Raising concerns, Mohan Rao, Telangana general secretary of the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham (ABASS), said: “We come from Hyderabad and remote parts of Telangana, observing the 41-day ‘mandala vratham’ ahead of the pilgrimage. The virtual queue is crucial for us to plan our travel. When we schedule our journey, we need clarity on the queue timings to book trains accordingly. The uncertainty in opening virtual bookings throws our entire schedule into confusion.”
TDB president P S Prashant said the Board is planning to start the virtual queue from November 1. “Though an official decision is yet to be made, the daily cap of devotees is likely to remain around 70,000, as in the previous year.
However, we still need to review the figure in consultation with various departments and officials,” he said. According to sources, the board intends to allow up to 70,000 pilgrims per day, similar to last year. However, the police department has recommended reducing the daily limit.
‘Zero prep’
ABASS Kerala general secretary D Vijayakumar said preparations for annual pilgrimage is almost ‘zero’ this year. “Uncertainty over virtual queue has now clouded prepara-tions. The preparation meetings are for namesake, there is clear lack of cooperation of officials,” he alleged.
