Taking note of a sharp dip in pilgrim footfall, the authorities have revised upwards the daily limit in the number of pilgrims to Sabarimala to 10,000.
According to Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president N. Vasu, the plan to raise the daily limit is line with a latest order by the High Court of Kerala. “The court has permitted us to raise the cap to 10,000 while continuing with the virtual queue system as part of a crowd control measure. At the same time, only those with valid COVID-19 certificates will be permitted entry to the temple,” he said.
Earlier, the authorities had noticed a severe underutilisation of the permitted number of 5,000 pilgrims a day. “Though the whole queue slots are booked within hours of the site being opened, only about half of those with book are turning up at the temple. This raises suspicion of an organised attempt to sabotage the Sabarimala pilgrimage,” Mr. Vasu said.
The other day, Sabarimala Special Commissioner M. Manoj too had submitted a report in this regard to the High Court. In view of the pandemic situation, the daily number of pilgrims to the temple had been fixed at 1,000 on weekdays and 2,000 on holidays. Based on a recommendation by the TDB, the authorities later raised it to 5,000.
The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala is slated to open on March 14 for the monthly pujas and will close after the Uthram festival on March 28. Officials said only those producing COVID- 19 negative certificates after undergoing the RT-PCR / RT Lamp or Express NAT test within 48 hours would be permitted entry to the temple.
