Pilgrims at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple found themselves in a tumultuous situation, expressing anger towards the Kerala Police and the Travancore Devaswom Board due to extensive delays lasting over 12 hours in the queue. Despite attempts to manage the influx by limiting virtual queue bookings to 80,000 per day, the strategy has fallen short, leaving devotees from various states enduring prolonged waits for darshan.
“I spent five hours on the road to the temple when they blocked the traffic. Now, I am waiting in the queue to have darshan for 14 hours,” a frustrated pilgrim said to Manorama News. Many pilgrims, including elderly individuals and children, reported discomfort as they got caught in the rush at the temple.
Tragedy struck on Saturday, 9 December 2023, when a girl collapsed and lost her life while waiting in the queue. In response, the Devaswom Board reinstated the special access queue for the elderly and children a day after the tragic incident. Despite a High Court order for the reinstatement of the queue system, no action had been taken since the beginning of the pilgrimage season.
Following the restoration of the special queue, a board was displayed, announcing the opening of Queue 9 exclusively for the elderly, children, and differently-abled individuals. Special seatings were arranged accordingly. However, reports from Manorama News revealed a violation of the special queue system, with pilgrims of all ages and health conditions found in line. The temple’s queue blocks were observed to be crowded, contrasting with the situation at Sannidhanam.
In 2022, the Travancore Devaswom Board reduced waiting times for people in special queues by two hours when the number of devotees exceeded 100,000. Despite the current pilgrim count being below this threshold, both the Devaswom Board and the police have struggled to manage the rush effectively. Responding to the mismanagement of crowds, the Devaswom Board decided on Saturday to cap virtual queue bookings at 80,000 per day. The temple witnessed an increase in rush as a substantial number of pilgrims ascended the hill shrine using the spot booking facility.
SHAME ON YOU @pinarayivijayan 🤮🤮
You are a failure!!
The situation at #Sabarimala is really scary.!!🚨🚨
The government led by Pinarayi has not taken care of basic needs there.
It's shocking: there's no control over the crowd, no drinking water, and the facilities are not… pic.twitter.com/FMXdIGW0I4
— महारथी-മഹാരഥി (@MahaRathii) December 11, 2023
Local media reports have said that the crowd management has gone for a toss due to limited stationing of security personnel this time. Many have complained of dismal state of affairs with not even proper drinking water facilities available.
It has been reported that, many pilgrims have been returning without having a darshan of Ayyappa at the Sannidhanam. People with children and elderly have had a horrendous experience.
Stop it, Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan!
You are playing with 🔥 Now.
There is a limit for everything.Currently, the situation is such that pilgrims visiting Sabarimala are leaving without being able to have a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa.
It’s saddening to witness visuals from Sabarimala:… pic.twitter.com/Jj9D3fggIN
— महारथी-മഹാരഥി (@MahaRathii) December 12, 2023
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