Thiruvananthapuram: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has sent a letter to the government seeking to increase the number of devotees allowed in Sabarimala per day.
Earlier, it was decided to allow 1,000 people to have darshan at the temple every day. But the number of people visiting the hill shrine is less than that. Many people who have booked for the darshan are not visiting the temple. But, the TDB is getting enquiries from pilgrims from outside the state seeking permission to visit Sabarimala.
It is in this context that the TDB has demanded the Kerala government to increase the number of devotees allowed to visit the temple per day.
TDB president N. Vasu said that 10,000 pilgrims can have darshan at Sabarimala while maintaining social distancing.
“The number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala has declined considerably. There is a campaign that the restriction on ‘Neyyabhishekam’ following the ban on ‘Pamba snanam’ (taking a dip in the Pamba river) is in violation of customs. But the TDB will not go back on its decision,” he added.
During the Mandala pilgrimage season, Sabarimala used to register daily revenue in crores. Following the pandemic, it has reduced to Rs 10 lakhs this season. The situation will not improve unless more devotees are allowed to visit the temple. Hence a letter was sent to the government, Vasu clarified.
