Problems Faced By Ayyappan Devotees Travelling Sabarimala

Sabarimalai is heading headlines with negative news every day. The issues faced by the devotees have increased compared to previous years. Devotees have started making darshan since the opening of the Mandal Puja on November 16. But this year, the crowd has increased more than in previous years. 

The devotees are facing lots of difficulties during the pilgrimage. They say that they could not do darshan properly. Some people turned back from Pamba because of the crowd and couldn't reach Sannidhanam. Police and administrators said that they couldn't control the crowd.

Few Devotees say that the mess they face is due to the administration's carelessness. Sabarimala has met more crowds than this. These problems, which did not occur then, are due to purely administrative blunders.

It is to be noted that the Online booking system has been implemented for the last 8-9 years. At that time, the Kerala Police was looking after it. Now that administration has come under the hands of Devaswom Board. 

The police allege that the Devaswom Board, which used to allow 5,000-6,000 pilgrims to the shrine outside virtual queues, now admits five times more people in spot bookings.

The issues this time start in Pampa itself. The devotee cannot park in the dropping location if he uses his vehicle. Rather, it should drop and return the vehicle. Then, the devotees have to take State Transport Corporation buses to return. 

The number of buses needed could be higher when thousands of people wait. Even though they use existing buses, there must be more guards to sort the pilgrims and board them. Therefore, the devotees climb up at will.