On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that 1,000 devotees will be allowed to visit the temple of Sabarimala daily when it opens for devotees from November 16 for the two-month long pilgrim season. More pilgrims will have to be given darshan during the holidays, and on the 'Makaravilakku' day, said CM.
The government has made extensive arrangements for the pilgrims in the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, with the temple set to open for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season.
In order to carry COVID-19 negative certificates, it would be mandatory for devotees preparing to trek to the shrine and those deployed for duties at the temple would also have to produce them.
If pilgrims from other states test positive, the CM said all facilities for undergoing treatment in Kerala would be provided. However, the requisite arrangements would be made if they wished to return to their respective states.
When the temple was opened for five days of rituals earlier this month, the slots for online booking were reportedly completed within two hours. For the five-day pooja, only 250 pilgrims were allowed into the temple.
A recommendation was submitted by an expert committee earlier this month that up to 1000 devotees per day may be allowed into the Sabarimala temple. The study also indicated that only in the temple would pilgrims be permitted in the age group of 10-60 years.