Decision to stop spot booking at Sabarimala to ensure smooth pilgrimage, Devaswom Minister Vasavan informs Assembly- NSP NEWS

The State government took the decision to do away with spot booking for darshan during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple to ensure a smooth pilgrimage, Minister for Devaswom V.N. Vasavan clarified in the Assembly on Wednesday.

He was replying to a submission by Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on the issue.

Mr. Vasavan said that the said the decision was taken during an online meeting chaired by the Chief Minister and attended by the Devaswom Minister, Travancore Devaswom Board officials, the police and the district administration.

The Minister said that it was essential that the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala does not exceed 80,000 per day so that a smooth pilgrimage can be ensured.

The meeting discussed in detail whether virtual queue booking alone was sufficient or whether spot booking be allowed. It was observed that whenever spot booking was allowed in previous years, the number of pilgrims exceeded 80,000 on all days. This created problems in providing facilities for pilgrims, crowd management, and other necessary preparations, impeding the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.

It was hence decided that allowing virtual queue bookings alone would be the most appropriate method for the 2024-25 Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, Mr. Vasavan said.

During the last season, in the first phase, 90,000 pilgrims were allowed through the virtual queue and 10,000 through spot booking. In the second phase, the numbers were set at 80,000 and 10,000, respectively, and in the third phase, this was reduced to 70,000 and 10,000 respectively.

The Minister stated that the decision to stick to virtual bookings alone was taken also on the basis of this experience.

Now that spot booking has been eliminated, 80,000 pilgrims will be allowed darshan daily through the virtual queue, he said.

In addition, for better crowd management, the virtual queue will now include information about the route chosen by pilgrims for their pilgrimage.

To make bookings easier, colour coding will be introduced for various slots in the virtual queue, so that pilgrims can easily identify the slots which have more bookings. Necessary adjustments will be made to the virtual queue software to reflect this, the Minister said.

He added that in order to make the arrangements smooth, the district administration and the police would be provided the number of pilgrims booked through the virtual queue in a specified format on a daily basis.