Kerala: Sabarimala Makaravilakku pilgrimage starts as temple reopens

Pilgrims will have an opportunity to visit the Sabarimala temple till January 20 after it was reopened on Saturday. The temple will close on January 21.

Pathanamthitta (Kerala): The Sabarimala Sree Dharmasastha Temple was opened today at 5 pm for the Sabarimala Makaravilakku pilgrimage. With this, the 'Makaravilak Mahotsava' pilgrimage began.

At 5 PM, the temple was opened byMel ShantiPN Mahesh Namboothiri under the leadership of Kantarar Mahesh Mohanaru. Then 'Malikappuram Mel Shanti' PG Murali, who received the Vibhutiand the key from the Mel Shantiof Sabarimala, opened the Malikappuram shrine after worshiping Ganapati and Nagaraja.

Pilgrims stepped on the 18th step and performed darshan after Melshanti PN Mahesh Namboothiri lit the holy fire. Sabarimala Executive Officer V Krishnakumar and Administrative Officer OG Biju came to worship.

After Mandal Puja, the temple was closed on December 27. Devotees were allowed to enter since it was opened this evening. Pilgrims started coming to Sannidhanamfrom Pampa and through the Pullumedu since this morning.

Pilgrims will have an opportunity to visit the temple till January 20. The temple will close on January 21. Sabarimala has been witnessing a heavy rush of devotees during the 'Mandala-Makaravilaku season' as usual. With the uncontrollable increase in the crowd, it was seen in Sabarimala that the preparations of the Kerala government and the Kerala police were completely derailed.

This time the number of devotees had increased exponentially compared to the previous Mandal period at Sabarimala. 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 later, making it a situation where more than 1,20,000 pilgrims arrived in a day.