Sabarimala temple to open today; Stone pillars to woo devotees

Thiruvananthapuram: Famous Sabarimala Ayappa temple will open on Thursday evening for a two-month-long Mandala pilgrimage season. Tantri Kantararu Mahesh Mohanaru will open the sanctum sanctorum at 5.00 pm. Following this, newly elected chief priest PN Mahesh will take charge. Current chief Priest K Jayaraman Namboothiri will not attend the rituals due to the death of a relative.

This time, stone pillars erected in the temple entrance will win the hearts of the devotees. The pillars are a part of the under-construction hydraulic roof. Vishwa Samudra, a Hyderabad-based construction firm is constructing the roof as an offering to Lord Ayappa. Manorama News reported that the company has allocated nearly Rs 70 lakh for the project. Beautiful carvings and spinning wheels with the writing 'Swamiya Saranam Ayappa' are the major attractions of the pillars erected on both sides of the 'Padinettam Padi'.

The hydraulic roof, which can be folded to the sides when there is no rain, has been designed by the Chennai-headquartered Capital Engineering Consultancy. With 'Pathinettam padi' getting a roof, rains will not pose a problem during the ‘Padi puja’ ritual (prayers to the 18 holy steps). At present, a tarpaulin sheet is drawn over the steps during ‘Padi puja.’

The 60-day-long Mandala pilgrimage season will conclude on December 27. The temple will reopen for the Makaravilakku festival on December 30. A huge number of devotees are expected to attend the annual Makaravilakku festival on January 15.

13,000 police officials to be deployed for security 

Sheikh Darvesh Sahib, the State Director General of Police, has announced the deployment of 13,000 police personnel in six phases to manage the influx of devotees during the pilgrimage season at the Sabarimala temple. Speaking at a security review meeting of top police officials at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, the state police chief emphasized the goal of ensuring a safe pilgrimage for all devotees. 

Special arrangements would be made for children and elderly pilgrims to have darshan. Vehicles transporting pilgrims are required to refrain from displaying decorations or unauthorized fittings. Temporary police stations have been established at Sannidhanam, Nilakkal, and Vadasserikkara. Vehicles bringing in pilgrims are instructed to proceed to Nilakkal and park after devotees disembark at Pampa. Sheikh Darvesh Sahib stressed the importance of all vehicles having the Fastag system to facilitate easy payment of the toll.

KSRTC depot at Pampa 

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has opened a depot at Pampa ahead of the pilgrimage season. Two hundred of the 120 buses allocated for conducting services from Pampa to Nilakkal as a chain service in the first phase reached the depot by Wednesday noon. T Sunil Kumar, the KSRTC’s assistant works manager of Mavelikara, assumed charge as the special officer in charge of the depot.

As the Nilakkal stand has been paved with baked bricks, more space is now available for parking buses. The Devaswom Board has turned over the new building constructed near the helipad at Nilakkal for the accommodation of the KSRTC crew. Ticket rates for special buses will be higher. All buses that have been operating daily services from Thiruvananthapuram, Kottarakkara, Pandalam, and Erumely depots to Pamba as scheduled trips, were designated as special services. The KSRTC’s ordinary bus service from Erumeli to Pampa will be short-terminated at Attathode until the pilgrimage is over.