PATHANAMTHITTA: In a bid to control the dangerously swelling rush in Sabarimala, the board has decided to extend the darshan hours. The darshan hours will be now extended to one hour in addition to the already active 17 hours. As part of this, from now on, the temple will open at 3 pm. The tantric( head priest) has given the yes nod to extend the timings. Presently, the temple opens at 3 am and will close only at 1 pm noon. Later, the temple used to open at 4 pm. This has been now changed to 3 pm.

Senior police officers will come to Sannidhanam and control the crowd of devotees. IG Sparjan Kumar has also reached the spot to monitor the proceedings. Devotees who have completed the darshan will be immediately sent back to Pamba by police officials.

Last day, the High Court intervened in the situation and asked if the darshan time could be extended by two more hours. But Tantri clarified that the current darshan time of 17 hours cannot be extended. The lawyer appearing for Tantri informed the court that the number of Ashtabhishekam and Pushpabhishekam was restricted to 15.

The High Court also asked police officials to take strict actions against those devotees breaching the barricade and tampering with the whole queue system. The court directed the chief police coordinator to ensure that there is no rush at Sabarimala.