As many as 32 lakh pilgrims reached Sabarimala during the ongoing Mandalam pilgrimage season as on Tuesday, Travancore Devaswom Board president A.Padmakumar said on Wednesday.
Talking to reporters at Sabarimala, Mr. Padmakumar said earlier reports about the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala during the previous years were highly inflated. He said a maximum of 92 pilgrims could ascend the holy 18-steps in an hour.
A TDB analysis showed that a maximum of 1,20,000 pilgrims would be able to reach the holy 18-steps leading to the Ayyappa temple in a day if 6,000 people climbed the holy steps in an hour. As per the analysis, a maximum of 80 lakh people reached Sabarimala in a year, he said.
Revenue collection
Mr. Padmakumar said the revenue collection at Sabarimala during the past 39 days was ₹101,11,93,417 against ₹164, 03,89,374 during the same period the previous year. He said the hundi collection alone was ₹20,13,6502.
Water supply project
Mr. Padmakumar said the government was seriously considering a ₹95-crore drinking water supply project for the Nilackal base camp.
He said the arrangements being made by the government and the TDB at Nilackal, Pampa, and Sabarimala facilitated a smooth Mandalam pilgrim season. Mr. Padmakumar alleged an attempt from certain quarters to sabotage the Sabarimala pilgrimage. But the government could defeat all such attempts without causing any inconvenience to the pilgrims, he said.
He said the TDB had provided shelter facility to 15,000 pilgrims at Nilackal and more shelters would be constructed to accommodate 30,000 more pilgrims there after the culmination of the Mandalam season.
