Smooth darshan continues, pilgrim turnout crosses five lakh at Sabarimala

SABARIMALA: With crowd pressure easing considerably on Friday, Sabarimala witnessed a smoother darshan experience for devotees even as the pilgrim turnout crossed five lakh since the MandalaMakaravilakku season began on November 16. By 7pm on November 21, the pilgrim count stood at 4,94,151. On Friday alone, up to 7pm, 72,037 pilgrims completed darshan. Reports from the base camp and hill trek not only point to improved crowd flow, but also indicate that the queue has stretched longer in some spots. On various sections of the forest path, waiting periods are rising despite spot-booking controls being in place, said devotees. At the base camp at Nilakkal and along the Pampa-Sannidhanam route, organisers have stepped up various amenities for pilgrims. Those standing in queue for long periods are being provided seating, snacks, and water. Many devotees said the management measures had eased the climb. Officials said the challenge will be on maintaining smooth movement as large batches of devotees are expected to arrive in the days ahead. Meanwhile, the cap of 5,000 spot bookings per day continues to remain in force to avoid overcrowding. Based on sector-based capacity assessments, the TDB authorities have assessed that up to 66,936 pilgrims can be accommodated safely between Pampa and Sannidhanam at any given time, including 12,500 at Pampa, 2,500 around the darshan complex, 1,500 on the flyover, 1,200 at Thirumuttom and 800 on the precincts of Malikappuram. HC RELAXES CAP ON PILGRIM ENTRY Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday permitted the Sabarimala executive officer, in coordination with the chief coordinator and the special commissioner, to make minor modifications to the cap imposed by the court on the number of pilgrims visiting the hill shrine. If the inflow of pilgrims is low, the authorities can relax the rule and allow entry to more devotees provided the concentration of pilgrims shall, at all times, remain strictly within the green zone limits, the court said. Travancore Devaswom Boards counsel submitted that after the orders of the court and the curbs imposed on the inflow of pilgrims, crowd density has significantly reduced. It may be appropriate to permit the executive officer and the chief coordinator to take decisions based on the actual inflow of pilgrims. The court allowed the request and adjourned the case regarding crowd management to December 3.