Kerala mulls allowing more devotees at Sabarimala

The revenue generated at the Temple is less than Rs 10 lakh per day in the last few days, while in the earlier pilgrim seasons it used to be up to Rs 3.5 Crores per day. This leads to a serious financial crisis for the Board. The Devaswom Board demanded to raise the cap for the number of pilgrims in this scenario.

Thiruvananthapuram:Raising the cap for the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple per day as per the present COVID-19 regulations is under consideration, said Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

The Government is looking into the Devaswom Board’s demand to increase the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala during the ongoing Mandala Makaravilakku pilgrim season. A final decision on this would be taken only after evaluating the Health Department’s opinion in the same considering the COVID situation. Devaswom Board had requested the Government to increase the number of pilgrims visiting the temple this season to 5,000 per day, as against 1,000 presently allowed.

The Government has also evaluated the rate of transmission of the COVID pandemic in the State as low. Hence, the Government is likely to accept the recommendations to raise the cap for the pilgrims visiting the temple, this season.

Devaswom Board recommended increasing the number of pilgrims allowed to visit the Temple considering the revenue crisis the Board has been facing.

The revenue generated at the Temple is less than Rs 10 lakh per day in the last few days, while in the earlier pilgrim seasons it used to be up to Rs 3.5 Crores per day. This leads to a serious financial crisis for the Board. The Devaswom Board demanded to raise the cap for the number of pilgrims in this scenario.

As of now, 1000 pilgrims are permitted for Darshan on working days at the temple through a virtual queue system and it is 2000 during the weekends.

The entry of the pilgrims for darshan at Sabarimala Temple is in compliance with the special guidelines and norms. Only those who register and book their slots on the virtual queue system would be let in after ensuring that they are COVID negative.