‘Lord Ayyappa doesn’t need publicity, no more Sangamam’, Devaswom Board President introduces major reforms in Sabarimala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Travancore Devaswom Board President K Jayakumar stepped forward with extensive reforms aimed at making the Sabarimala pilgrimage smoother and more transparent for devotees. He was speaking at the press meet convened in Thiruvananthapuram.

All the systems in Sabarimala will be completely digitalized from this year onwards. The board president has clarified that Ayyappa does not need special publicity. He informed that there will be no 'Ayyappa Sangamam' from now on.

550 rooms in Sannidhanam will now be made available for devotees online. Earlier, it was only 190 rooms. Online booking has been made mandatory for all rooms. The deposit amount for booking rooms has been completely avoided. The devotees can book rooms by paying the room fee in advance and charging a service charge of just Rs 50.

Since there are presently no separate people to clean the rooms and surroundings in Sannidhanam, the cleaning work will be handed over to private agencies from this season. In addition to the 56 rooms at the Sabari Guest House, 60 new rooms will be constructed with the permission of the high court and the hyper power committee. The president also informed that a control room with modern facilities including AI cameras will be opened at the Devaswom Board office for 90 days from November 1.