The police have made elaborate crowd management planning, anticipating huge rush of Sabarimala-bound pilgrims at Nilackal, Pampa and Sabarimala on the last two days of the ongoing 41-day Mandalam season.
According to G. Jayadev, District Police Chief (DPC), the closure of the Ayyappa temple for four hours on Thursday forenoon, owing to the solar eclipse, will lead to a long wait for the huge crowd of pilgrims coming from different parts of the country in the last lap of the Mandalam season on Thursday and Friday.
Solar eclipse
The sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple and the adjoining Malikappuram Devi temple at Sabariamala will remain closed for four hours, from 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., on Thursday in view of the solar eclipse.
According to temple Tantri (Chief priest) Kandararu Maheswarau Mohanararu, keeping the temple open during the solar eclipse was not appropriate and hence the puja timings at the Ayyappa temple for December 26 too has been revised accordingly.
The sanctum sanctorum will be reopened after the solar eclipse at 11.30 a.m. The Tantri, assisted by the Melsanthi, will perform purification rites. The ‘naivedyom’ offering for the presiding deity will be prepared only after the solar eclipse. The ‘Neyyabhishekom’ offering will be resumed for some more time after 11.30 a.m., if needed, according to devaswom sources.
Mr. Jayadev said the police had little option but to regulate the pilgrim movement to the holy hillock from Pathanamthitta and Kottayam from Wednesday evening.
The DPC said the pilgrim movement to Sabarimala would be regulated from various transit camps at Pathanamthitta, Vadasserikkara, Nilackal, Kottayam, Erumeli, and Pathanapuram from Wednesday evening.
This might also lead to a long wait (9 to 12 hours) for the pilgrims at certain points along the main trunk routes leading to Pampa on their way to Sabarimala from Wednesday evening to Friday, he said. The procession carrying the Thanka Anki too will reach Sabarimala on Thursday afternoon and pilgrims will not be permitted to ascend the holy 18-steps from 4 p.m. till the Thanka Anki is taken to the temple premises prior to the deeparadhana ato be performed around 6.30 p.m. Hence, the police would have to detain the pilgrims at various transit camps to avoid congestion and excessive human pressure at Nilackal, Pampa and at the holy hillock of Sabarimala Sannidhanam on Thursday and Friday, Mr Jayadev said.
He said the police would have to detain the pilgrims at the Nilackal base camp, as the deluge-ravaged foothills of Pampa would seldom provide enough space for such a huge crowd. The Pampa-bound-pilgrims too would be detained at various other transit camps, once the Nilackal base camp too started filling fast, he said.
Mr Jayadev said an additional deployment of a company of Kerala Armed Police personnel would be made at Nilackal, Pampa, Erumeli and Pampa. The Deputy Inspector General of Police would be in charge of the security arrangements.
Mandalapuja on Friday
The Mandalapuja at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple will be performed between 10 a.m. and 10.40 a.m. on Friday.
