Virtual queue limits leave Sabarimala devotees unhappy, raising concerns for Devaswom

Sabarimala: Complaints continue to mount regarding the limit on bookings for the Sabarimala Virtual Queue, which remains fixed at 70,000 per day. This has raised concerns among the Devaswom Board about the decreasing number of devotees able to get darshan. Due to the technical complexities involved, the Devaswom Board is awaiting a High Court directive to increase the booking limit to 80,000.

Currently, after each day’s bookings, more than 10,000 people fail to show up. With the limit set at 70,000, those who miss out on darshan do not have the opportunity to be replaced by others. Meanwhile, devotees are increasingly concerned about the availability of spot bookings if they arrive at Pampa without prior booking. As a result, the availability of spot bookings is extremely limited, and the Devaswom office receives numerous calls from devotees seeking information on darshan availability.

According to the police, up to 80,000 devotees can comfortably have darshan in a day. However, the highest number of devotees to arrive on a single day so far was 75,959 on November 18. If the virtual queue limit were increased to 80,000, even if 10,000 booked devotees did not show up, the additional 10,000 spot bookings could ensure that 80,000 people would get darshan each day.

Despite the website indicating full booking, the actual situation shows that there is no significant crowd at the temple for darshan. Due to technical glitches in the early days of the season, the Devaswom Board is concerned that many devotees may miss out on darshan this pilgrimage season.

Earlier, the High Court issued a directive allowing darshan for 90,000 devotees per day—80,000 through online bookings and 10,000 through spot bookings. However, this directive was not implemented, and the virtual queue limit was kept at 70,000. The Sabarimala Special Commissioner has since submitted a report to the High Court requesting an increase in the virtual queue limit to 80,000. While the Devaswom Board has agreed to the increase, the decision is still pending.