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The start of the pilgrimage month at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple triggered a massive influx of devotees on Tuesday, November 18, resulting in a near-stampede situation. Reports say more than one lakh pilgrims reached the temple in the first 48 hours of the season, more than double the usual 40,000–50,000. Many devotees complained of long waiting hours, inadequate assistance, and congestion along the trekking routes.
Amid the heavy rush, a 58-year-old woman, Sathi from Kozhikode, collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack while trekking at Appachimedu near Pamba.
Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, and former Kerala BJP president K Surendran criticised the Kerala government, alleging a “grave administrative collapse” at Sabarimala.
New Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Jayakumar said the situation worsened because the central forces requested earlier were not deployed on time. After reviewing the situation with top police officials, he said the administration is committed to improving coordination, upgrading infrastructure, and strengthening crowd management to ensure a smoother pilgrimage experience.
Central forces arrived on Wednesday, November 19, easing the situation as crowds thinned.
“Measures have been strengthened to ensure that pilgrims arriving at Pampa can have a smooth and faster darshan without long waiting hours. Crowd flow will be regulated from Nilakkal to prevent congestion. Twenty queue complexes are operational between Marakuttam and Saramkuthi, each accommodating 500–600 pilgrims. These complexes provide resting space along with water and food,” Jayakumar said.
Congress leaders alleged that the government and the Devaswom Board were preoccupied with shielding those accused in the gold smuggling case, neglecting essential preparations and causing chaos for lakhs of devotees. Surendran claimed the authorities had chosen “neglect rather than planning.”
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Venugopal said the current “frightening situation,” as acknowledged by the TDB president, is a direct result of government “negligence and mismanagement.” He accused the administration of failing to deploy adequate police, crowd control systems, medical support, drinking water, sanitation, and transportation facilities.
Both Congress leaders called for immediate intervention by the High Court and demanded the formation of an expert committee to oversee temple administration.
(With IANS inputs)