Sabarimala Pilgrimage: Virtual Queue Booking Active as Daily Pilgrim Footfall Capped at 80,000
The online virtual queue registration system for the annual Sabarimala Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season has become fully operational ahead of the ceremonial temple opening. The revered hill shrine in Pathanamthitta district is scheduled to open its sanctum sanctorum on the evening of November 16 for the two-month pilgrimage. To ensure disciplined crowd regulation and prevent stampede hazards along trekking paths, authorities have capped the daily pilgrim quota at eighty thousand devotees. Under this comprehensive crowd-management framework, sixty-six thousand entry slots are allocated through prior online reservations on the official web portal. An additional daily quota of fourteen thousand passes has been reserved for on-the-spot bookings to accommodate traditional pilgrims lacking digital access. Dedicated spot registration counters equipped with biometric verification are functioning across key transit hubs, including Pampa, Nilakkal, and Erumeli. Devaswom authorities have mandated that every devotee carry valid government-issued photo identification cards matching their booking details. Officials reminded pilgrims to download and print confirmed digital passes to ensure frictionless passage through security checkpoints. Extensively upgraded drinking water kiosks, shaded resting shelters, and emergency medical stations have been deployed along the entire pedestrian trekking corridor. High-resolution closed-circuit surveillance networks and automated footfall sensors will monitor crowd density along traditional forest routes in real time. Multiple state departments, including police and transport utilities, are coordinating closely to ensure safe transit for millions of visiting devotees.
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