Kerala: Sabrimala temple sees record footfall as over 1 lakh pilgrims book for darshan

Pilgrims walk to the facade of Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Pic/iStock

The Sabrimala temple received record bookings for darshan as over 1 lakh devotees thronged the temple.

As per temple officials, 1,07,260 devotees have booked darshan timings for Monday.

Keeping the tremendous footfall in consideration, elaborate security arrangements have been made.

"Devotees will be escorted from Pampa to Sannidhanam in a controlled and segmented manner. police officers have been deployed at each point for this purpose. The segment rotation is a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident due to the crowding of devotees. Devotees waiting in the queue will be provided light food and drinking water. Apart from the police, the services of RAF and NDRF personnel will also be used to control the traffic," said Sabarimala Special Officer Harishchandra Naik.

The darshan timing has been extended by one hour, added officials.

Around 77,216 people have booked online for Sabarimala darshan on December 13 and 64,617 on December 14. About 60,000 people visited Sabarimala on Saturday till 5 pm.

Earlier on November 24, over 2.5 lakh pilgrims visited Lord Ayappa Temple at Sabrimala in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district in the first six days of the ongoing pilgrimage season, said Kerala Devaswom Department Minister K Radhakrishnan.

"2,61,874 pilgrims have visited Sabarimala in the first six days of this pilgrim season. There are indications that the number of devotees will increase in the coming days," said the Minister.

The portals of the Lord Ayappa Temple at Sabrimala opened on November 17 for devotees for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festivals, marking the beginning of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage season.

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