Explained: What is going on at Sabarimala?

Sabarimala is experiencing a heavy rush during 'Mandala-Makaravilaku season' as usual. With the uncontrollable increase in the crowd, it was seen in Sabarimala in the past few days that the preparations of the government and the police were completely derailed.

Pathanamthitta:Sabarimala is one of the largest pilgrimage centres in South India. Lakhs of devotees from different parts of Kerala and various states of India come for the Sabarimala pilgrimage. This time Sabarimala was opened on November 16 for the Mandalakala pilgrimage. Sabarimala darshan is possible during mandala season till 25th December. Mandala Puja is on December 27. Sabarimala temple will again be opened on December 30 for the 'Makaravilaku maholsavam'. Makara Vilakku is on January 15. After completing the ceremonies, the Sabarimala pilgrimage will be completed on January 20.

Sabarimala is experiencing a heavy rush during 'Mandala- Makaravilaku season' as usual. With the uncontrollable increase in the crowd, it was seen in Sabarimala in the past few days that the preparations of the government and the police were completely derailed.

The government had imposed some restrictions on the flow of devotees to the Pamba and Sannidhanam to avoid untoward incidents and tragedies that might occur if there was a large crowd at the Sannidhanam. Devotees were stuck on all the roads leading to Sabarimala for several hours as the flow of pilgrims was restricted due to the rush of devotees.

Such was the situation many of the pilgrims, who came to Pampa had to wait for eight to nine hours to have darshan. In the meantime, children and women were falling. Eleven-year-old Ayyappa devotees Padmapriya from Tamil Nadu, Periya Swamy from Tiruchi and Rajesh Pilla from Kollam died in the heavy rush in recent days.

This time the number of pilgrims has increased exponentially compared to the previous Mandal period. Last time, an average of 62,000 people climbed the mountain in the first few days, this time from December 6, the number increased to an average of 88,000. Due to the floods in Chennai and the Assembly elections in Telangana, those who could not reach in the first few days also arrived, making it a situation where more than 1,20,000 pilgrims arrived in a day.

An initial attempt was made to ease the rush by increasing the darshan time by an hour, but that failed. 90,000 people visit Sabarimala daily through virtual booking. About twenty thousand people through spot booking. With an average of 5,000 people arriving through the forest route, all the restrictions were broken.

A review meeting convened to assess the situation decided to reduce the virtual queue booking to 80,000. A decision was also taken to limit the spot booking to essentials only. Planning for a smooth Mandala Makarvilaku season at Sabarimala always starts months in advance. This time too, the government had called a meeting to combine all the departments and prepare the necessary facilities for the pilgrims.

It was decided in the review meeting to provide necessary facilities for the pilgrims and start drinking water kiosks at Nilakkal, Pampa and Pampa-Sannidhanam forest route.

However, the people concerned made a mistake in assessing whether the Sannidhanam has the facility to accommodate lakhs of devotees visiting Sabarimala. Devotees' vehicles were stopped in dense forests to control the traffic.

There are also allegations of harassment. The lack of coordination between the Devaswom Board and the police is cited as the main reason why the situation at Sabarimala is out of control. Even during the review meetings, the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and the Devaswom Board President were at loggerheads.

Solutions:ADGP Ajithkumar claims that 60 people climb the 'Pathinettam Padi' every minute. But Devaswom Board President PS Prashanth says that 75 people are climbing. Former DGP, TP Senkumar says that none of this is enough to avoid pilgrim traffic at Sabarimala.

Experts suggest that at least 100-120 people per minute should be made available to cross the 'Pathinettam padi' by deputing experienced policemen on duty there.

The proposal to widen the 'Pathinettam padi' has been before the Devaswom Board for a long time. However, the people concerned are hesitant to decide as there will be accusations of violation of customs which may result in a strong feeling against the government in the election year. If a decision is made in this matter after discussion with the people related to the Sabarimala temple, tanthris and acharyas, it will be possible to reduce the crowd in Sabarimala significantly.

Consideration should also be given to whether it would be possible to open more days during the season to accommodate more devotees. At present, even if the temple is open for five days every month, there is no shortfall in the number of devotees during the Mandala Makara Vilakku season. Devaswom Board is being criticized for not taking immediate steps to control the crowd despite the experience of major tragedies like the Pullumedu disaster during the Makaravilak festival in the past. In this situation, seeing the plight of the devotees, the High Court directly intervened.