Kerala govt approves Rs 778.17 Cr plan to elevate Sabarimala as global heritage hub

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 9 (ANI): The Government of Kerala (GoK) has approved a comprehensive layout plan for the Sabarimala pilgrimage site, encompassing Pampa and the trek route, announced Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday.
The Kerala Chief Minister said that with an estimated cost of Rs 778.17 crore, the blueprint for the project aims to enhance safety, streamline pilgrim movement, and elevate Sabarimala as a global heritage hub.
Taking to his official handle on X, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, "GoK has approved the layout plan for Sabarimala, Pampa, and the trek route developed in line with the Sabarimala master plan. With an estimate of Rs 778.17 crore, the blueprint envisages dividing the area into 8 zones to ensure a smooth and safe pilgrimage for the devotees during the season."
"This layout plan underscores the government's unwavering commitment to developing Sabarimala into a global heritage hub," read the post.
As part of the preparations to prevent overcrowding of devotees during the Makaravilaku festival at the Sabarimala temple, it was decided to limit the spot booking facility at Sannidhanam to 5,000 persons per day from January 8-15.
The decision was taken under the Kerala High Court's direction for efficient crowd management during festival seasons at the Sabarimala temple. Bookings through the virtual queue have been fixed on the Devaswom board website as 60,000 on January 12, 50,000 on January 13 and 40,000 on January 14.
The devotees are also advised against camping on the hillock. January 14 is the Makara Jyoti day.
It is customary for devotees to wait in Parnasalas from the 10th to see the Jyoti. For this reason, preparations are in progress to avoid the crowd that may arise on Makaravilakku day.
Along with limiting the spot booking, police will conduct an inspection of the devotees at Nilakkal before allowing them to enter Pampa. The police will implement the guidelines to control the cooking and other activities of devotees sitting in the paranasal. Various steps are being taken to ensure security at the various places prepared for Jyoti Darshan.
The police are making necessary arrangements to ensure the safety of the pilgrims on the procession routes.
The huge increase in the number of pilgrims is evidence of the success of police preparations and in ensuring smooth and safe darshan.
A record 39,02,610 Ayyappa devotees visited the shrine from November 15, when the pilgrimage began, to January 5 this year.
Last year, 35,12,691 devotees visited during the same period. From December 30, when the Makaravilaku season began, until Monday, 6,22,849 people visited the shrine, as reported by the state police media centre. (ANI)