There was heavy rush of devotees at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Saturday. Pilgrims had to wait for over five hours inside the barricades to reach the temple.
Inspector General of Police M.R. Ajith Kumar reviewed the crowd-management arrangements in the afternoon. He is camping at Sabarimala to oversee the arrangements.
Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister M.C. Sampath offered prayers at the temple on Saturday.
Indiscriminate parking of vehicles on the road margins at Chakkupalam, near Pampa, led to traffic congestion on the Pampa-Chalakkayam road. The base camp at Pampa witnessed heavy flow of vehicles and the parking lots were full by 10 a.m.
Plastic ban
Devaswom executive officer V.S. Jayakumar called upon pilgrims to cooperate with the authorities in their efforts to keep Sabarimala plastic-free. Pilgrims should avoid plastic covers in the ‘irumudikkettu’ as well as shoulder bags as the government had banned plastic at Sabarimala, which is situated in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Water bottles should be left in the bins kept by the wayside and at different parts of the Sannidhanam and Pampa. -TheHindu