Pathanamthitta: The Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala was opened on Monday to mark the beginning of this year's pilgrimage season. The full seasonal pilgrimage is being allowed after two years, expecting to tide over the challenges caused by the Covid pandemic and floods.
Sabarimala chief priest V K Jayaraj Potty opened the sanctum Sanctorum under the guidance of Sabarimala Thanthri Kandararu Mahesharu at 5 pm.
Devotees would be allowed inside the temple from Tuesday. As per the guidelines, 30,000 devotees would be allowed inside the temple per day. The entry will be regulated through virtual queue booking. So far, 8,000 persons have booked for darshan on Tuesday.
Devaswom Board officials said for the first three days, the number of devotees allowed will be further restricted due to bad weather conditions. Torrential rains in these areas have flooded most of the main roads leading to Sabarimala. Pampa bathing will not be allowed on these days.
In order to comply with COVID-19 protocol, only devotees who have completed two doses of vaccines or carrying a valid negative RTPCR certificate would be allowed to visit the temple.
Night travel in these areas has been banned due to the risk of landslides as rains have not stopped in these areas. Devotees would be allowed only through Swamy Ayyappan Road.
Pathanamthitta district administration and Travancore Devaswom Board have created several facilities for the devotees. KSRTC is operating special services from various depots. Vehicles of devotees would be allowed only till Nilakkal and KSRTC buses are provided to take devotees from Nilakkal to Pamba. No parking would be allowed at Pamba.
Health Minister said all precautions have been taken to ensure the health safety of visiting devotees. There is enough stock of prasadam containing Appam and Aravana and devotees can get them without any difficulty, the minister said.
What devotees have to follow while visiting the shrine
* Special caution to be exercised while climbing the hill during rains as the path would be highly slippery
* Devotees should maintain a social distance of two meters from each other
* Wear a mask covering nose and mouth completely. Do not remove mask while talking
* Do not carelessly throw away used masks, waste, and plastic materials
* Frequently wash/sanitise hands. Carry a hand sanitiser
* Those with fever and breathing difficulties should avoid the pilgrimage
* Those who had Covid in the past three months are likely to have serious respiratory and heart-related issues while climbing up. So please ensure your physical fitness and it is recommended that such persons undergo a Pulmonary and Cardiac examination prior to the pilgrimage
