The High Court has directed that the issuance of ‘facilitation cards’ (passes that allow direct entry to Pathinettampadi, bypassing the queue in Nadappanthal) be limited daily to 5,000 Sabarimala pilgrims who use the traditional 32 km long trekking path.
This directive was issued following a review of a report from the Sabarimala special commissioner about crowd management. The report states that crowd management issues on December 30 were aggravated by nearly 15,000 pilgrims using ‘facilitation cards’ to enter Pathinettampadi directly. This led to restrictions on the movement of pilgrims from Nilakkal to Pamba.
The government pleader informed the court that pilgrims waiting in the Nadappanthal queue had raised concerns on seeing others with facilitation cards entering directly. The court then directed the Sabarimala Special Officer to inform pilgrims through the public address system at Sannidhanam about the facility available for those who complete the 32 km traditional trek (Periya Patha) over two days.
It also instructed the Travancore Devaswom Board, in consultation with the chief police co-ordinator for Sabarimala and the special commissioner, to consider whether this facility should be withdrawn before January 10. The Bench also directed that a decision be made regarding restrictions on real-time (spot booking) passes, taking into account factors like footfalls and the position of the queue’s tail end.
Published – December 31, 2024 09:45 pm IST