Sabarimala witnesses steady rise in pilgrim inflow
The Hindu
About 69,000 persons trekked up the hill on the Christmas day till 7 p.m. while about 15,000 persons were waiting at the Pampa base camp.
With just a day left for the first phase of the annual pilgrimage season at Sabarimala to conclude, the hill temple is witnessing a steady rise in the inflow of devotees.
As per official estimates, about 69,000 persons trekked up the hill on the Christmas day till 7 p.m. while about 15,000 persons were waiting at the Pampa base camp for performing the pilgrimage. The influx of pilgrims is slated to continue for the next couple of days with the Travancore Devaswom Board receiving about 1.90 lakh bookings for darshan.
Meanwhile, the procession carrying the Thanka Anki - a golden attire, for the Mandalapuja at Sabarimala is slated to reach here on Monday. The procession will be accorded a customary reception at Sharamkuthi. The presiding deity at Sabarimala will be adorned with the Thanka Anki prior to deeparadhanam, which is to be held in the evening. The Mandalapuja at Sabarimala is to be performed on December 27 afternoon and the temple will close after the athazhapuja on the same day, marking the culmination of the 41-day long Mandalam season.
The temple will reopen for the Makaravilakku festival on December 30 evening and the devotees will be permitted to the hilltop from next day morning onward.
Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan, TDB president K. Ananthagopan and Sabarimala Special Commissioner M. Manoj will be present on the occasion.
Ahead of its arrival, the authorities here on Sunday reviewed the arrangements in place and decided to regulate the flow of pilgrims during the Thanka Anki procession.
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