The holy hillock of Sabarimala witnessed unprecedented rush on Tuesday and the police had to regulate the flow of pilgrims to the Pampa-Sannidhanam trekking path.
Devotees had to wait for hours together to reach the temple. A group of devotees from Kannur told The Hindu that they had to wait for nine hours in the queue that extended even beyond Sabaripeedhom, 3 km away from the Sannidhanam.
The Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom volunteers supplied medicated drinking water to the pilgrims waiting inside the barricades and at the Lower Tirumuttom. The police too served drinking water to the pilgrims.
Sannidhanam Police Special Officer P. Vijayan, accompanied by other officials, inspected the queue system up to Appachimedu. Mr. Vijayan said special police teams had been deployed along the trekking path to prevent infiltration of pilgrims into the queue through various forests paths.
