Thiruvananthapuram: Devotees visiting Sabarimala will soon be able to send Aravana Payasam and other temple offerings to their homes through India Post, which is setting up a round-the-clock special booking counter at the hill shrine in association with the Travancore Devaswom Board.

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The facility is being introduced for the upcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season to ensure convenient doorstep delivery of the offerings to devotees across the country through the postal department's Speed Post Parcel service, an official statement said.

The 41-day Mandala pilgrimage season begins on November 17.

The special parcel booking centre will function alongside the Devaswom Board's Aravana and Appam counters at Sabarimala temple complex.

Aravana, a sweet prasadam prepared mainly from rice, jaggery and ghee, is one of the most sought-after offerings at the Sabarimala temple. Appam is another sweet offering at the hill temple.

Devotees can book the offerings at the shrine and have them delivered to their home addresses, so that the parcels reach them by the time they return from their pilgrimage, it said.

Apart from the facility at Sannidhanam, devotees can also book and send prasadam to any destination in India through post offices across the country, the statement said.

The initiative is expected to ease the difficulties faced by pilgrims amid heavy rush at the shrine, allowing them to order any number of prasadam packets without having to carry them during their return journey.

The service will provide convenient booking, secure packaging and reliable delivery across the country.

Travancore Devaswom Board President K Jayakumar and Kerala Circle Chief Postmaster General Amitabh Singh announced that the special parcel booking centre would become operational next week, coinciding with the opening of the Lord Ayyappa temple for the current year's Mandala season, the statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Mathrubhumi and is published from a syndicated feed.)