The poor crowd management measures adopted to control the huge rush of devotees to Sabarimala have forced many pilgrims to return home without performing darshan at the hill shrine.
According to reports, many pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and different parts of Kerala are returning home without visiting the hill shrine. They return home after visiting the Valiya Koyikkal Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Pandalam.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the Kerala Police are facing flak for their failure to control the crowd effectively to reduce the waiting time.
It has been reported that the facilities at the Ayyappa shrine are inadequate at all places including queue complexes with pilgrims having to wait 15 to 20 hours for darshan. Approximately 75,000 pilgrims visit the temple daily on average and yet no measures are in place to control the crowding and preserve order.
Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan responded by saying that the coming of around one lakh pilgrims on one day has suddenly created a crisis at Sabarimala.
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to guarantee that no person visits Sabarimala Temple without virtual queue booking or spot booking.
The decision came as the hill shrine in Kerala witnessed a heavy rush of pilgrims in the last few days, requiring them to wait more than 12 hours to get darshan.
The High Court also directed the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to seek the help of NSS and NCC cadets from nearby colleges to help the Sabarimala pilgrims.
In light of the increase in influx of devotees to the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed officials to conduct matters in a more integrated and coordinated manner.