Heavy rush at Sabarimala

The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala witnessed heavy rush on Tuesday.

Pilgrims had to wait for hours inside the barricades along the Marakkoottom-Saramkuthi-Sannidhanam stretch to reach the temple premises.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and volunteers of the Ayyappa Seva Sanghom served medicated drinking water and biscuits to the pilgrims waiting in queue.

A company each of the Rapid Action Force and the National Disaster Response Force attached to the Central Reserve Police Force and 2,300 personnel of the Kerala Police have been deployed for crowd management.

The camping of pilgrims for a long duration to offer Neyyabhishekom to the presiding deity, coupled with the continuous flow of pilgrims from Pampa and Pulmedu, has led to the rush.

Karpoora Aazhi held

Meanwhile, police personnel on duty at Sabarimala organised a Karpoora Aazhi procession immediately after the Deeparadhana at the Ayyappa temple.

Tantri Kandararu Rajevararu and Melsanthi E.N. Krishnadas Namboodiri jointly lighted a heap of camphor kept in a vessel, marking the beginning of the procession. The Karpoora Aazhi procession, to the accompaniment of shingari melam, chendamelam, panchavadyam, and nadaswaram, culminated before the holy temple mast.

Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar reached Sabarimala on Tuesday evening to take stock of the arrangements made by various government departments, the TDB, and other agencies for the pilgrimage.

He also convened a meeting of TDB officials and heads of various departments at the Devaswom Guest House.

Aravana issue

Meanwhile, the TDB has submitted a clarification letter received from the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore before the Kerala High Court, seeking more freedom in the preparation of the Aravana.

The TDB move comes in the wake of the Food Safety Authority’s restriction that moisture content in the Sabarimala prasadom should not exceed 10 per cent, leading to an unexpected crisis in the distribution of Aravana at Sabarimala.

The TDB started giving four tins of Aravana to a pilgrim through the prasadom counters at Sabarimala on Tuesday. -thehindu

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