Thiruvananthapuram: The Travancore Devaswom Board has withdrawn its decision to mandate virtual queue reservations for the visitors of famed Lord Ayyappa temple, Sabarimala, during the Makaravilakku season.
The decision was taken during a high-level meeting of key authorities and board members called by the Kerala government.
President of the board, PS Prashanth, said that no one arriving at Sabarimala, including those without virtual queue bookings, would have to return without a darshan. However, he did not clarify whether a spot booking system would be implemented instead.
The board plans to request the government to establish a system in place of spot booking, and appropriate decisions will be made after discussions with the government.
Virtual queue booking serves as an official record for each devotee visiting Sabarimala, while spot booking is merely an entry permission document for Sabarimala.
In the changed circumstances, having accurate information about each devotee arriving at Sabarimala is essential for both their safety and the temple's security. Being able to anticipate the number of devotees arriving each day will help manage the crowds at Sabarimala scientifically. This will facilitate smoother access to darshan, prasad, appam, and aravana.
The number of devotees arriving through spot booking has been increasing each year.
In the 2022–23 season, the number of visitors through spot booking was 395,634, which increased to 485,063 in the 2023–24 year. The rising number of unexpected visitors each year contributes to the breakdown of crowd management systems, which the Devaswom Board has to deal with.
If the Devaswom Board aims to increase revenue by increasing visitor numbers, then there is no need to control the numbers. However, there should be no compromise on the safety of the devotees and the temple.
Prashanth noted that the decision to mandate full online booking for darshan was made with the objective of reducing the number of devotees.
The darshan hours at Sabarimala will be extended this season as part of effective crowd management. The president announced that darshan will be allowed from 3 AM to 1 PM and then again from 3 PM to 11 PM, totalling 17 hours of darshan per day.
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