Pathanamthitta: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to cap the daily virtual queue bookings for the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple for five days - December 25 to 26 and January 12 to 14 - as part of crowd management measures for the Mandala Makaravilakku festival.

On December 25, only 54,000 devotees will be allowed to visit the shrine, while the number will be capped at 60,000 on December 26. According to Manorama News, authorities are likely to suspend spot booking facilities for pilgrims during these five days. Official data reveals that over 20,000 devotees currently use spot booking to visit the shrine daily.

On December 25, the ceremonial procession carrying the 'Thanka Anki' - the sacred golden attire for Lord Ayyappa - will be taken to the hill temple for the Mandala Puja. The temple will close on December 26 after the puja. TDB expects a surge in pilgrim numbers during these days and has decided to restrict access by limiting the daily virtual queue quota.

The temple will reopen on December 30 for the Makaravilakku festival. To manage the crowd during this period, TDB will enforce additional restrictions from January 12 to 14, 2025. A maximum of 60,000 pilgrims will be allowed on January 12, while the limit will be 50,000 and 40,000 on January 13 and 14, respectively. Thousands of devotees are anticipated to visit the shrine to witness the Makara Jyothi on January 14.

The number of pilgrims visiting the shrine has been steadily increasing ahead of the Makaravilakku festival. On Friday, 96,853 people visited the temple, including 22,203 who used the spot booking facility, while 70,000 booked for darshan through the virtual queue.

On Saturday morning, a long queue of devotees was seen at the spot booking counter in Pamba. Reports indicate that overcrowding has forced pilgrims to wait for hours to have darshan.