Sabarimala overcrowding: HC caps daily spot bookings at 5,000 till Nov 24

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday criticised the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for lapses in managing overcrowding at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple during the ongoing Mandala pilgrimage season. Expressing concern over the massive inflow of pilgrims, the court ordered that only 5,000 spot bookings per day be allowed until November 24. With this cap, a maximum of 75,000 pilgrims will be able to have darshan at the temple each day.

Earlier, the TDB had decided to allow 90,000 pilgrims daily. Of this, 20,000 were allowed to have darshan through spot booking. 

The HC issued the order while disposing of two Devaswom Board petitions that detailed long queues, lack of basic amenities and the absence of drinking water along the Sannidhanam flyover.

During the hearing, the court pulled up the TDB for failing to control the huge rush and warned that continuing congestion could lead to a tragedy at the hill shrine. The bench observed that such a heavy turnout could result in accidents or even suffocation-related deaths.

The court issued the order a day after a 60-year-old woman from Kozhikode collapsed and died while waiting in a queue for darshan at the temple. According to reports, devotees were forced to stand in queues for more than six hours as the shrine witnessed a massive influx of pilgrims that day. Devotees said police personnel were struggling to control the crowd as large numbers of pilgrims entered the shrine through multiple gates.

With close to one lakh pilgrims permitted darshan each day during the Mandalam–Makaravilakku season and more than 50 lakh visiting annually, a Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar said the current facilities were nowhere near sufficient.

“We are compelled to note that the amenities offered by the Board are severely lacking,” the Bench observed, stressing that “a minimum of 1,000 bio-toilets… is essential to meet the basic sanitary requirements of devotees.”

The court ordered that 200 of the 423 rooms at Sannidhanam be earmarked exclusively for online reservations to ensure “transparency, accessibility and equal opportunity.”

It directed the TDB to install more eco-friendly bio-toilets from Nilakkal to Sannidhanam and to ensure that each unit is staffed by an attendant to maintain cleanliness.

Authorities were also told to ensure “continuous access to safe and adequate drinking water” at Sannidhanam, Pamba and along the trekking route, with sufficient personnel deployed to keep the supply uninterrupted.

Additionally, the court said help desks staffed by “trained polyglots” should be placed along the Pamba–Sannidhanam path to guide pilgrims and gather feedback.

A multilingual public grievance portal must be made operational on the official Sabarimala website. Most of these steps must be completed within three weeks.

The Bench further raised concerns about the decades-old practice of granting donors five free days of accommodation each year, pointing out that donors had enjoyed this privilege “for over fifty years.” It asked the Board to revisit the policy after hearing donor feedback.

Responding to the court’s remarks, the TDB said its ability to expand infrastructure was restricted because the temple is located within the Periyar Tiger Reserve. It cited “severe space constraints” as the reason for the absence of a drinking water kiosk at the flyover, and added that toilets could not be built there as the area falls within the sacred precincts.

The court, however, said environmental limitations could not justify denying pilgrims basic dignity.

Stating that the well-being of devotees must be the Board’s “prime concern,” the judges said their directives must be implemented not just in letter but in “spirit, urgency and humanity.”