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TDB reduces virtual queue and spot booking entries for Mandala Puja days

The logo of ‘Swami chatbot’, an AI assistant for Sabarimala pilgrims, was unveiled by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his office on Wednesday. The chatbot, developed by the Pathanamthitta district administration to enhance the Sabarimala pilgrimage experience for the devotees, is accessible in six languages. The chatbot, unveiled two days before the Sabarimala pilgrimage season begins, will be installed …

Sabarimala Shrine in Kerala is witnessing a huge footfall this month leading to chaos and anger among the pilgrims as many of them have to turn back without completing their pilgrimage. An average of 62,000 pilgrims visited the hill shrine daily during the first 19 days of the Mandala Pooja season, however, the number increased to 88,000 in the four …

After days of intense efforts that combined a scaling up of services and limiting the inflow of pilgrims, authorities finally succeeded in controlling the rush at the Sabarimala hillock on Tuesday. Rajamanickam, who visited the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple to take stock of the situation and held meetings with officials, said the rush was being managed to avoid a stampede-like situation. …

A couple of days after the authorities switched to firefighting mode to keep the crowd that has engulfed Sabarimala under control, the influx of pilgrims to the holy hillock showed signs of easing on Monday. A special squad of revenue officials, led by a duty magistrate and an executive magistrate, has been deployed to ensure basic amenities to those stuck …

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Deputy Director, Periyar West Division to prevent unauthorized entry of anyone near Ponnambalamedu, a protected forest area near the Sabarimala Temple. The Deputy Director was further directed to file an affidavit stating the measures that could be taken to prevent such unauthorized entry of persons within 10 days. "A real time monitoring …

The Kerala High on Monday issued directions for crowd management in Sabarimala Temple, anticipating heavy footfall for the upcoming days amid Mandala festival. State has also decided to limit the number of online virtual queue bookings to 90,000 per day, Senior Government Pleader informed the Court. On Sunday, the Court held a Special online sitting to consider issues of crowd …

Kerala High Court on Sunday proposed an extension of the time of worship for devotees at the Sabarimala temple by an hour on busy days. The court had asked the Board to consider extending the time of worship after taking suo motu cognisance of a recent rush of devotees at the Sabarimala temple, which left quite a few of them …

Over 2.5 lakh pilgrims visit Sabarimala in first six days of pilgrimage season

Sabarimala: More than 2.5 lakh pilgrims have visited Lord Ayappa Temple at Sabrimala in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district in the first six days of the ongoing pilgrimage season, said Kerala Devaswom Department Minister K Radhakrishnan on Wednesday. "2,61,874 pilgrims have visited Sabarimala in the first six days of this pilgrim season. The portals of the Lord Ayappa Temple at Sabrimala opened …

Sabarimala Spot Booking Intended To Ensure Maximum Participation At Darshan, Cannot Be Confined To Two Days: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday ruled that the validity of seats registered for Sabarimala darshan through spot booking cannot be confined to 2 days as followed presently. A Division Bench comprising Justices Anil K. Narendran and P.G Ajithkumar emphasised that the very purpose of introducing spot booking centres was to enable devotees who did not have the required facilities …