Devotee surge pushes Sabarimala to the brink, TDB president warns of dangerous overcrowding

Sabarimala, Nov 18

The annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season at Sabarimala has begun with an unprecedented and dangerously heavy surge of devotees, prompting serious concerns from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

On Tuesday, TDB president K. Jayakumar warned that the rush at the Lord Ayyappa Temple had crossed safe limits and required immediate corrective measures to avoid a crisis.

Addressing the media, he said the situation had escalated due to thousands of devotees breaking queues and rushing toward the sanctum for darshan.

He acknowledged that such a massive accumulation of pilgrims “should never have been allowed to build up,” adding that the crowd would become unmanageable unless 80 to 90 devotees were able to climb the sacred 18 steps every minute.

Central forces are expected to arrive later today to support crowd management, and coordination with them will begin immediately.

Large groups of pilgrims reportedly returned without darshan, with many leaving after performing the ghee offering at Pampa due to the long waiting time.

While Sabarimala usually permits a maximum of 90,000 pilgrims a day—70,000 through the virtual queue and 20,000 via spot bookings—the first two days of the season saw numbers far exceeding expectations.

Over 1.36 lakh devotees have already completed darshan since the shrine opened on Sunday evening, with nearly 55,000 pilgrims arriving on the opening day alone.

The TDB chief pointed out that devotees reaching Pampa should not be made to wait for long hours and said a letter had been sent to ADGP S. Sreejith to ensure better regulation.

He also noted that the existing queue complexes were not being utilised effectively, with police reporting that devotees were bypassing them. Jayakumar said providing more facilities inside the complexes and ensuring that pilgrims are seated and informed through proper announcements would help prevent exhaustion and sudden collapses.

Allowing devotees to proceed in batches when their turn arrives, he said, was essential for maintaining order.

Holding pilgrims for longer durations at Nilakkal is being considered acceptable, and seven additional spot-booking counters are being set up there today, while spot bookings at Pampa will be reduced.

Jayakumar also acknowledged gaps in basic arrangements, including the delay in completing the staff mess, shortage of drinking water, and poor sanitation at Pampa.

Two hundred extra workers have been deployed for water distribution, while another 200 personnel from Tamil Nadu will be brought in to clean toilets.

Cleaning at Pampa has been intensified following an adverse Special Branch report. He reiterated that while online booking was filled on the first day, spot booking could not be avoided as it was crucial for crowd control, though restrictions are under consideration.

Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman