Pathanamthitta: Even as the flow of pilgrims to Pampa continues, the crowd at sannidhanam, the shrine at Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, has been brought under control, authorities said.
According to reports, 88,000 devotees completed the darshan on Tuesday. The number of devotees who completed the darshan increased when more than 4,000 people were allowed to ascend the 'pathinettam padi' (the holy 18 steps) every hour.
Meanwhile, 1.2 lakh people reached Sabarimala on Tuesday. As it is unsafe to allow these many devotees to climb up the hill, the police are controlling the crowd at Pampa. Many Sabarimala pilgrims on Tuesday blocked the road at Erumeli to protest against authorities' decision to not allow them to proceed to Pampa. Although there is no heavy traffic on the saranapatha (the hiil route from Pampa to sannidhanam), the traffic congestion is severe in all other paths leading up to Pampa.
A devotee from Tamil Nadu died due to heart attack at sannidhanam on Tuesday. A 12-year-old pilgrim from Tamil Nadu had died after falling unconscious amid the trek to reach the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala last week.
Court intervenes
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed authorities to ensure support to the Sabarimala pilgrims who reach the shrine and to provide adequate parking facilities for the vehicles. The court will consider the case again on Wednesday.
The bench of Justice Anil Narendran and G Girish, asked the state police to ensure to bring the rush to the hill shrine under control. The court asked the police not to allow overcrowding of devotees in the queue complex and keep it clean every day.
"The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) shall consider whether the pilgrims can be provided with drinking water and biscuits at such locations through NSS volunteers in educational institutions or with the assistance of the concerned Local Self Government Institutions," the court said.
The High Court also said that the TDB shall deploy a sufficient number of security personnel/employees on each parking ground to ensure maximum parking of vehicles can be done. The court also said that more facilities should be arranged at the shrine for pilgrims, including children.
ADGP (Law and Order) M R Ajit Kumar appeared before the court and explained the facilities provided there.
The court was considering the complaints of lack of basic amenities and safety measures in Sabarimala. The hearing will continue tomorrow. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said nothing unusual had happened at Sabarimala this time and urged officials to make the necessary intervention to inform the public about the new arrangements and systems put in place there.
