Sabarimala: Arrangements have been completed for the Makaravilakku Festival at the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala that falls on January 15. More than four lakh devotees are expected to have Makara Jyothi (sacred light) darshan.

“This year the Travancore Devaswom Board has decided to provide free food to 1.5 lakh devotees arriving for Makara Jyothi darshan at Sannidhanam and Panditavalam on January 14 and 15,” said TDB President V S Prashant. “This will be in addition to the ‘Annadanam’, being provided for the last 60 days.”

Ten viewpoints have been readied and arrangements such as setting up barricades, illumination, and temporary shelters have been completed there. The 10 viewpoints are Panditavalam, the area before the Water Tank, before the Maramattu Complex, the portion north of the BSNL office, Koprakalam, Sannidhanam, Malikappuram temple premise, Appachimedu, the area before Annadana Mandapam, and that before incinerator.

“The pilgrims should strictly follow the directions of the police and forest officials. They shouldn’t try to enter the forest and should maintain caution against wild animals, reptiles, and poisonous plants. They should also avoid standing on top of concrete buildings,” the TDB president said after reviewing the security arrangements at Pandithavalam, where the maximum number of pilgrims are expected to camp for Makara Jyothi darshan.

Devotees, who are temporarily camping in the hills to witness the sacred light, should lay ‘viris’ and set up ‘parnashalas’ (temporary tents) only at the designated areas. The police have prohibited the lighting of fire and cooking food on the temple premises. Pilgrims should adhere to the instructions of security officials, the TDB president said.

New batch of police team takes charge
Meanwhile, a new batch of police personnel was deployed at the hill shrine and premises for the Makaravilakku Festival to get them acclimatized to the fool-proof security arrangements in place to avoid untoward incidents like a stampede.

The personnel belonging to the second phase of the 6th batch led by Special Officer S Sujith Das were deployed on January 9. Half of the previous batch was retained to guide the new batch. The new personnel have replaced them.

As part of tightening of security on the occasion of the Makaravilakku Festival, another batch, consisting of six DySPs, 15 CIs, 25 SI and ASI officers, and 350 personnel, would enter duty at the hill shrine, on January 13.

A posse of 2,500 police personnel will be deployed as part of the heightened security measure.

Temple to be opened at 5 pm for Makara Jyothi
The Lord Ayyappa temple will be opened at 5 pm on the evening of January 15. A team of Devaswom officials, led by Minister K Radhakrishnan, will proceed to Saramkutty to receive the ‘Tiruvabharanam’ (sacred jewels) procession.

The Tiruvabharanam will be taken to the temple and adorned on the Ayyappa idol during Deeparadhana. The Makara Jyothi, a celestial phenomenon marking the pinnacle of the Makaravilakku Festival, will follow soon as chants of ‘Swamiye Saranamayyappa’ will resonate over the hills.