Mandala season crowd control fails; devotees struggle in heavy rush

SABARIMALA: On the third day after the Sabarimala temple opened for the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival, the shrine witnessed an overwhelming rush that slipped out of control. Many pilgrims who waited more than eight hours for darshan fainted due to exhaustion. Even drinking water was unavailable. There was strong criticism that crowd-control arrangements completely failed.

The situation worsened while ADGP S. Sreejith was at Sannidhanam. The crowding was severe enough to raise fears of a tragedy. Pilgrims were tightly packed below the holy 18 steps, in the Tirumuttam, in the large queue shed, and at Jyothirnagar. With the queue barely moving for hours, pilgrims broke out of the “Marakkoottam” queue system and rushed towards Sannidhanam through the forest path, the Chandranandan Road, and the Bailey bridge. They pushed aside and crossed police barricades, further worsening the situation near the 18 steps.

As the Marakkoottam shed became unsafe, pilgrims were moved out through the Chandranandan Road, and the shed was demolished. Those who came via the Bailey bridge added to the congestion. Some pilgrims who bypassed the barricades reached Sannidhanam through the staff gate and the North nada without climbing the 18 steps. Children and women were trapped and squeezed in the crowd, with many crying in fear.

Pilgrims forced to return without darshan
The uncontrolled crowd forced several groups, including devotees from Tamil Nadu, to return without getting darshan. A group of 40 pilgrims, who had reached Pamba, performed Thiruvabharanam darshan, offered Irumudi, but had to return. Another group of young first-time pilgrims from Thiruvannamalai, including children, also returned in frustration and protest. Pilgrims who had booked virtual queue slots said they reached Pamba but could not proceed further for darshan.

2 lakh pilgrims in 43 hours
After the Sabarimala temple opened for the Mandala–Makaravilakku festival, 1,96,594 pilgrims arrived for darshan up to 12 p.m. yesterday. This total includes both virtual queue and spot-booking pilgrims. From the opening at 5 p.m. on the 16th, 53,278 pilgrims visited; on the 17th, 98,915 pilgrims arrived; and until noon yesterday, 44,401 pilgrims reached the shrine. Central forces will arrive today to help manage the heavy crowd. The Devaswom Minister is barred by the State Election Commission from making public statements on pilgrimage-related matters.

Pilgrim control at Nilakkal
Pilgrims will be stopped at Nilakkal and allowed to proceed to Pamba only under controlled conditions. There are 20 queue complexes between Marakkoottam and Saramkuthi. Pilgrims will be shifted into these when the rush increases. Along with the existing spot booking at Pamba, seven more counters will open at Nilakkal. More staff will be deployed to provide drinking water and snacks. Spot booking has been capped at 20,000. Additional facilities will be arranged at Nilakkal for pilgrims who need to wait.

“There were lapses in pilgrimage arrangements; they will be fixed immediately. Once pilgrims reach Pamba, arrangements will be made to ensure they can reach Sannidhanam and get darshan within a reasonable time. Further corrective steps will be taken in the coming days”

– K. Jayakumar, President, Travancore Devaswom Board