Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday stepped in to address the issue of overcrowding at the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple, observing that the current system has become a significant civic challenge. The Court directed the Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee to submit a comprehensive action plan within two months.

The directive came while considering a batch of petitions, which highlighted that the number of devotees visiting the temple is rising sharply every day. The petitioners argued that the long-standing physical queue system has become unmanageable, causing severe hardship to elderly women, differently abled persons and devotees travelling from distant places.

It was also pointed out that the virtual queue system introduced during the COVID-19 period in 2022 was withdrawn “irrationally,” despite its effectiveness. In response, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V issued a detailed set of guidelines to streamline crowd management and improve the darshan experience.

The key directives include:

• A scientific study to determine the temple’s carrying capacity on regular and festival days, with a daily cap to be fixed accordingly.
• Designating a single entry and exit to regulate flow.
• Dividing devotees into groups of 300–500 each, with Aadhaar or voter ID mandatory for spot-booking.
• Introducing real-time darshan progress through a mobile app and digital displays using AI-based predictive tools for queue movement.
• Setting aside at least two days a week exclusively for online darshan booking, benefiting long-distance devotees.
• Improving amenities such as drinking water, seating, shaded areas, fans and resting spaces for senior citizens, mothers with infants, disabled persons and children.
• Providing priority darshan for senior citizens, differently-abled persons, pregnant women and those with infants.

The Court also directed the authorities to consider increasing darshan hours after consulting with the Thantri. It further ordered the formation of a permanent multi-departmental coordination committee to facilitate the new arrangements.