Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition accused the LDF government of deliberate mismanagement at the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage, following the chaos that erupted at the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala on Tuesday.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, claimed that the pilgrims had to stand in queue for 18 hours for darshan due to the authorities' failed crowd management.

He also cited the shortage of drinking water, unclean toilets, and problems faced by devotees, as the Pamba River is polluted.

"The government, which had shown fake devotion to Lord Ayyappa by conducting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam and plundering the deity's gold, is now deliberately trying to mess up the pilgrimage season in Sabarimala," he alleged.

Satheesan was addressing reporters in the presence of prominent UDF leaders.

"The government should take serious measures to regulate and address all these issues. Otherwise, a delegation of the UDF will visit Sabarimala," he said.

Pointing out the concerns raised by K Jayakumar, the newly appointed president of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Satheesan said the situation in Sabarimala was on the verge of a stampede on Tuesday due to the indiscriminate flow of devotees.

Lack of coordination among various departments and inadequate preparedness had led to this situation, he added.

He also claimed that if the gold loss case in Sabarimala is investigated properly, the present Devaswom Board minister, his predecessor and three former presidents of the TDB would be behind bars.

As nearly two lakh devotees arrived at the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala on Tuesday, within 48 hours of the temple opening for the annual 'mandala-makaravilakku' pilgrimage season, the TDB and the police struggled to manage the massive flow of pilgrims, including children.

Visuals on TV channels on Tuesday showed a massive crowd of devotees tightly packed in the small area in front of the 18 steps leading to the main doors of the shrine.

Large crowds of devotees packed the pilgrimage route from Pamba, in the foothills of Sabarimala, to the Sannidhanam, with many facing hours-long delays as they climbed the path.