PATHANAMTHITTA: The number of people waiting to get darshan of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala has increased immensely. The crowds are now waiting for more than 12 hours to get a glimpse of the deity. It is decided that on days with heavy rush, the darshan will be extended for half-an-hour till 11.30 pm.

Usually, the time for closing the temple was 11 pm. Devaswom Board President, K Ananthagopan, said that the timing was extended after consulting the Tantri and the Melshanthi.

This pilgrim season, due to increasing rush, the temple began to be opened early in the afternoon at 3 pm.

Yesterday the rush was a little less compared to the rush during the previous two days. The Chief Minister will chair a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, today, to discuss about crowd control.