Sabarimala temple extends darshan hours for Lord Ayyappa devotees

The darshan timings at Sabarimala temple has been rescheduled for the upcoming Mandalam Makaravilakku season. Darshan will be available from 3 AM to 1 PM, and then from 3 PM to 11 PM, giving devotees 17 hours for darshan. Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president PS Prasanth said the decision regarding timings were made after consultations with the head priest.
“The tantri (head priest) has displayed quite a cooperative approach in this matter. This time, only virtual queue system will be in place at Sabarimala, but every devotee will be provided with the opportunity for darshan. We will coordinate with the government to make the necessary arrangements,” the TDB president said.
He said several concerns were being raised about the decision to remove spot booking and allow only virtual queue. “During last year’s pilgrimage season, we saw an unprecedented crowd for few days at the temple. The police had to stop them. When we checked the data, more than 20,000 spot bookings were there on those days. For us it’s not about the number of devotees visiting but the safety of the devotees that is of prime importance,” Prasanth said.
According to him, a grace period of 48 hours will also be given for virtual queue bookings.
There was major controversy last year with the Kerala government coming under fire after its failure to manage the pilgrims visiting the holy shrine during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season. Several lapses in crowd management and basic amenities being provided led to pilgrims even returning without Darshan.