Unprecedented rush in Sabarimala: Kerala HC seeks to know possibility of extending darshan timings

Kochi: Taking into account the unprecedented rush in Sabarimala, the Kerala High Court convened a special sitting and instructed the Devaswom board to discuss with the priests whether the darshan timings could be extended for one or two more hours. 

Sabarimala has been witnessing larger than usual crowds in the past two days. Today the rush was so huge that devotees took to jump barricades. 

It is estimated that more than 1 lakh people have come to the Sannidhanam since Friday alone. On Saturday, more than 90,000 devotees made virtual queue bookings and there were about 21,000 spot bookings.

Earlier too, the HC had intervened to manage the rush scientifically by directing devotees to queue complexes. But since that does not seem to be enough to manage the huge influx of people, the HC has suggested an extension in darshan timings. 

Currently, the darshan is open for 17 hours a day. The HC has also estimated that if this extension is possible then 85,500 devotees can go through the Pathinettampadi daily. The court also considered deploying CRPF personnel for crowd management. The court has directed the law and order ADGP to monitor the situation closely. 

Meanwhile, Devaswom board president, P.S Prashanth, speaking to Mathrubhumi news said that the tantri (priest) has the final say with regards to temple proceedings. The priests will take the matter into consideration and take necessary steps, he added. He also said that the Kerala police are well equipped to handle the crowd, and that the present rush is due to it being a weekend.