PILGRIMS FLOOD SABARIMALA

PILGRIMS FLOOD SABARIMALA

Sabarimala, on Monday,27^th November,2012, witnessed heavy rush, forcing the police to regulate pilgrim flow to the Sannidhanam from the afternoonPilgrims had to wait for hours together inside the long-winding barricades for darshan at the Ayyappa temple.At one time, the queue of pilgrims, waiting for the darshan, extended up to Marakkoottom.By around 3 p.m., the police blocked the pilgrims at Pampa for an hour to ease their flow through the trekking path and reduce the crowd at the hillock.

The entry of pilgrims into the trekking path was regulated by blocking them at regular intervals at Pampa.Pilgrims also had to wait for two to three hours before the prasadom counters to buy Appam and Aravana in the afternoon. Shortage of stock forced regulation of Appam sale to two packets a person The Travancore Devaswom Board had taken steps to ensure the quality of Appam and Aravana, said board member Subhash Vasu.

Prof. John Kurakar