Amidst the continuing uncertainty over the resumption of spot bookings at the Sabarimala temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Wednesday opened virtual queue bookings for the upcoming annual pilgrimage season at the hill temple by setting a daily cap of 70,000 pilgrims.
With the State government already declaring a daily limit of 80,000, the move has sparked speculation that the remaining 10,000 spots may be allocated through spot bookings. This development comes close on the heels of an announcement by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that pilgrims arriving at Sabarimala without prior online registration would still be allowed to have darshan during the season.
While the Travancore Devaswom Board has stated that a decision on the remaining 10,000 slots will be made later, official sources have hinted that these slots are indeed being set aside for spot bookings, though the term ‘spot booking’ may not be used explicitly.
“Even though darshan is officially restricted to online bookings, the Board anticipates a certain number of pilgrims arriving without prior registration. These reserved slots will be allocated to such individuals,” said an official.
Last season, an average of 20,000 people entered the hill temple daily through spot bookings, which overwhelmed the crowd control measures. In the 2022-23 season, 3.95 lakh devotees used spot bookings for darshan, and this number rose to 4.85 lakh in the following season.
Triggered protests
An earlier decision by the State government to discontinue spot bookings at Sabarimala triggered a significant political controversy, with Opposition parties criticising the move. Even within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second-largest partner, voiced its support for continuing spot bookings alongside the virtual queue system.
Published - October 16, 2024 07:47 pm IST
