Ayyappa devotees at Nadapanthal in Sabarimala | Photo: ES Akhil / Mathrubhumi
Pathanamthitta: In a bid to curb the heavy rush in Sabarimala, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Ananthagopan on Wednesday said the temple darshan will be limited to 90,000 pilgrims per day.
“The darshan timings have been extended to one more hour,'' he said, while addressing the media after attending a top level meeting chaired by the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
With the extension of the darshan timings, the temple doors will remain open for the devotees for 19 hours a day from 3 am to 1.30 pm and from 3 pm to 11.30 pm.
Special offerings namely ‘Ashtabhishekam’ and ‘Pushpabhishekam’ have also been limited in numbers owing to the rising number of devotees.
Reportedly, devotees will be allowed to pass through all the queues during the recital of Harivarasanam. Water and biscuits will be distributed from ‘Saramkuthi’ to ‘Nadapanthal’.
Further facilities for parking will also be set up in Nilakkal and trained policemen will be posted at ‘Pathinettam Padi’ (18 holy steps).
Around 19,17,385 people have already booked online for darshan and a total of 14,98,824 people have visited the temple till last Sunday, said the TDB president.
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