Travancore Devaswom Board plans OTP system to stop bulk room bookings

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board has decided to revamp its website to prevent middlemen from bulk-booking rooms at guest houses at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam and reselling them to devotees.

The board is considering a system that will allow devotees to book guest house rooms using the OTP sent to their mobile phones when they register for darshan through the virtual queue. This is expected to ensure that only devotees visiting Sabarimala can book the rooms.

Kerala Kaumudi had earlier reported that middlemen were booking guest house rooms in large numbers and reselling them. Guest house rooms can currently be booked only online. The Sabarimala Special Commissioner will submit a report to the High Court highlighting irregularities in room bookings and the changes required to the website.

The Devaswom Vigilance wing has also found irregularities in room bookings during the Thulam month puja. A report by the Devaswom Commissioner had pointed out that all 400 rooms were booked within an hour. It was also found that some travel agents were booking rooms in bulk.