Ayyappa devotees wait to offer prayers at Sabarimala temple, in Pathanamthitta, earlier this month.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: With the heavy rush of pilgrims at Sabarimala yet again leading to chaos and protests by devotees, the Kerala High Court held a special sitting on Christmas Day and directed the police and the Travancore Devaswom Board to take necessary steps to provide water, snacks and other facilities.
Even as the authorities had earlier decided to restrict the daily limit of pilgrims to Sabarimala to 80,000 in view of the recent chaos, on Sunday over one lakh pilgrims were reportedly allowed inside.
Owing to the heavy rush of pilgrims at the Pamba and Nilackal base camps, police were forced to regulate vehicles to Sabarimala from distant spots. This triggered protests by pilgrims at some places alleging that no basic amenities were available. Many pilgrims had to spend more than ten hours in vehicles stranded on roads.
The High Court directed that pilgrims who booked through the virtual queue system and spot booking facilities should be only allowed to visit the temple. The police and devaswom board were directed to ensure basic amenities to the pilgrims. The state police chief was directed to personally look into the matter.
Earlier this month also the HC devaswom bench had taken serious note of the chaos caused by the heavy rush of devotees at the temple. The Tamil Nadu government had even written to the Kerala government to avoid difficulties to hundreds of pilgrims from that state visiting the hill shrine.