Sabarimala: TDB moots extended darshan hours, bringing back spot booking

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the Kerala government’s decision to allow only Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees who book darshan in advance through online facility ran into a controversy triggering protests, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to urge the government to allow spot booking at least for a limited number of devotees.

The Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple is set to open on November 15 for the upcoming Mandala and Makara Vilakku seasons.

Ahead of the most important pilgrimage period for the temple, the CPM government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided that only 80,000 devotees would be allowed per day, that too only after online booking.

The high-level meeting took the decision after noting that the crowd that the temple received last year had almost overwhelmed the facilities and arrangements. It also led to severe criticisms of mismanagement against the government.

However, it’s response did not go down well with a section of devotees, and Hindu outfits and the Pandalam royal family, who demanded the reinstatement of spot booking for darshan.

At a meeting of the Travancore Devaswom Board chaired by its president PS Prasanth, it was resolved to urge the government to bring back instant darshan facility, at least for a limited number of people every day. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Prasanth added that there was also a demand that devotees should would be permitted to offer darshan for 18 hours every day throughout the season.

However, he clarified that any decisions regarding temple operations, including darshan hours, would require approval from the temple’s head priest, the Tantri.