‘Sabarimala’s gold crown safe in strongroom; no aravana shortage this season’: TDB chief
Thiruvananthapuram: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Jayakumar has explicitly dismissed media reports claiming that a gold crown gifted to Sabarimala had gone missing, clarifying that it remains safely stored in the shrine's strongroom. Addressing a press conference, he added that there will be no shortage of ‘Aravana prasadam’ at the hill shrine during the upcoming Thulam month pujas and the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
Detailing the crown controversy, Jayakumar explained that a 55-sovereign gold crown presented by a devotee in 2012 is completely secure at the Sannidhanam strongroom, as verified directly by the Thiruvabharanam Commissioner. He noted that confusion arose only because a similar secondary item had been relocated to the Aranmula strongroom.
On the pilgrimage arrangements, the TDB president assured devotees that preparations are progressing in a time-bound manner, with measures actively underway to expand ‘Aravana’ production. The plant currently produces 2.6 lakh tins daily and will revert to this capacity by October 10. Once an upgraded facility becomes operational on October 31, daily production will increase by 1 lakh tins to reach 3.6 lakh tins per day. A buffer stock of 8 lakh tins will be maintained for the Thulam month pujas, rising to 75 lakh tins by the time the shrine opens on 16 November.
The plant modernisation complies with food safety standards and includes two new cooling chambers and two boilers to prevent tin breakage and fungal growth. The old strongroom inside the plant has been dismantled to facilitate the expansion.
To secure jaggery for ‘Aravana’ preparation, three tenders were floated. Samples from a Pune-based supplier successfully passed quality tests, and the Devaswom Vigilance SP will conduct a site inspection in Pune to verify the firm's capacity. The board will purchase 50 lakh kg of jaggery from this supplier, while the remaining 25 lakh kg will be procured via the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal for the first time.
Feasibility checks for lid supply contracts have been completed. Major raw material agreements will be signed by October 5, with all procurement contracts finalised by October 15, after which no further tenders will be issued.
To prevent cartelisation or “adjustments” during shop auctions, the board is introducing an e-auction tender system for Sabarimala commercial space leases. Bidders can participate online from their personal computers rather than gathering at the Sumangali Auditorium. Leases will be awarded for an 11-month tenure this season.
Digitisation initiatives will see all monetary transactions shifted to digital modes, supported by dedicated digital kiosks for “vazhipadu” (offerings) managed by seven or eight authorised banks. Weekly progress reports on preparations will be submitted to the government, increasing to tri-daily updates during the peak pilgrimage season.
Crowd control measures will feature AI-enabled surveillance cameras managed through an AI control room at Nilakkal, funded by the Kerala Police with an outlay of ₹5 crore. Seating capacity for 6,000 pilgrims is being established at Nilakkal.
In addition, the board will assign liaison officers to coordinate with police and health departments. Civil works at Sabarimala are scheduled for completion by October 31, with a four-member special inspection team conducting weekly quality audits.