Sabarimala: The revenue collection at the famed Sabarimala temple during this Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season has crossed Rs 263.46 crore. Compared to the last year's revenue of Rs 168.11 crore, this is an increase of Rs 95.35 crore.
However, the counting of coins has not been completed.
The revenue from the temple has recovered after a drastic drop in the previous year (18-19 season) after protests by right-wing parties on the row over the entry of women of all ages to the temple affected the flow of pilgrims.
The total revenue of 2017-18 period was Rs 263.77 crore. The difference in revenue between this season and the current season is just Rs 31 lakh. However, when the counting of coins is completed, the aggregate revenue is expected to widen still.
The process of counting would be starting again on February 5.
Only one part of the coins collected during the current pilgrimage season has been counted. The coins have been kept as heaps in three parts of the Devaswom Bhandaram. Coins worth Rs 23 lakh were counted and handed over daily to the Dhanalakshmi Bank during the Makaravilakku. The rest is still to be counted.
Travancore Devaswom Board president N Vasu said that the remaining coins would be worth at least Rs 8 crore. "The counting of the coins is expected to be completed before the temple reopens for the monthly Kumba pooja. A minimum of 300 employees would be deployed for this. The support of police, hospital, Devaswom and KSRTC is needed for this. And arrangements would be made soon," he added.
After a peaceful Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season of over two-months, the portals of the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district were closed after performing customary rituals and pujas on Tuesday.
Though the annual Makaravilakku was held here on January 15, the hill top temple, nestled in a reserve forest in the Western Ghats, was open for devotees to offer worship till Monday evening.
Even the last day of the pilgrimage witnessed heavy rush of devotees, including those from neighbouring states, at the Sannidhanam (temple complex), sources at the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex temple body which manages the shrine, said.
The hillock temple would be opened on February 13 for monthly pooja and would receive devotees for the next five days, TDB sources added.
The shrine, which draws devotees from various parts of the country, had witnessed unprecedented protests by right wing outfits and BJP workers last year after the CPI(M)-led LDF government decided to implement the September 28, 2018 Supreme Court order lifting the traditional ban on women and girls in menstrual age from offering prayers.
However, this year, against the backdrop of the top court's decision to refer a batch of review pleas against its earlier verdict to a larger bench, the state government had said those women desirous of visiting the hill temple should get a "court order" and it would not encourage activism.
During this season, some young women who came to Sabarimala were not allowed by authorities to trek to the Ayyappa temple.