Over 5.75 lakh devotees visit Sabarimala temple in first week of pilgrimage season

Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Nov 22 (PTI) Over 5.75 lakh devotees have visited the Sabarimala temple since it opened for the 'mandala-makaravilakku' season on November 16, authorities said.

A press release from the Information and Public Relations Department said that as of 7 pm on Saturday, more than 5.75 lakh pilgrims had visited the hill shrine.

On the day, 72,845 devotees reached sannidhanam till 7 pm.

"While the flow of devotees continues without interruption, all arrangements for smooth darshan have been made at sannidhanam. Devotees were able to climb the sacred eighteen steps without waiting at the large queue shelter," authorities said.

Intermittent rain at sannidhanam since noon did not affect the pilgrimage, they added.

The Kerala High Court recently directed improved crowd management following heavy rush during the initial days of the season and imposed a limit of 5,000 spot bookings per day.

However, with crowd management becoming more effective in recent days, the High Court on Friday allowed authorities to adjust the 5,000 cap based on daily inflow.

Meanwhile, Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan chaired a meeting with Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) officials and representatives of various departments involved in Sabarimala operations on Saturday.

The minister reviewed the crowd management system and facilities arranged for pilgrims.

According to TDB officials, the meeting decided to further strengthen crowd control measures so that more devotees can complete darshan without any queue. PTI TBA SSK