The Kerala High Court on Wednesday, December 13, issued directions for crowd management in Sabarimala during the festival seasons of Makaravilakku and Mandalakalam. The directions include separate queues for women, children and disabled people to ensure their safety and providing drinking water and biscuits for the waiting devotees. The Court issued the order in response to a report by the Sabarimala Special Commissioner regarding crowd management during festival seasons.
According to a Live Law report, nine important directions were issued by the division bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice G Girish. The court instructed the Chief Police Coordinator to regulate the movement of pilgrims through Pathinettampadi without compromising their safety and ensure darshan for devotees. The police have also been asked to provide drinking water and biscuits to devotees who are stranded between Laha and Nilakkal.
The Court instructed the Travancore Devaswom Board to ensure the cleanliness of the queue complexes. They have also been asked to ensure sufficient volunteers to provide drinking water and biscuits, and deploy adequate security personnel to facilitate proper parking of vehicles. The Devaswom Board can seek the help of NSS volunteers and local self-government institutions, the directive said.
The bench also instructed the Regional Transport Officer (Enforcement), Pathanamthitta to identify more parking grounds in the Pathanamthitta route. Officials in the Motor Vehicle Department have been asked to ensure the availability of KSRTC buses at boarding points to carry pilgrims.
Sabarimala has been in the headlines for the last few days due to the heavy rush of the pilgrims. On December 9, Padmashri, a 12-year-old girl from Selam in Tamil Nadu collapsed and died at Appachimedu, on the way to the temple. But reports say she was already suffering from heart disease.
The devotees also complained about long queues, which extend up to 18 hours on the weekends. On the same day, the Court instructed the Devaswom board to consult with the Sabarimala priests to extend the Darshan time to manage the crowd.