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Sabarimala Ayyappa temple witnesses one of the worst crisis in its history
Unlike the heavy rush witnessed during weekend holidays for the Mandalam-Makaravilakku season, the holy hillock saw only a moderate pilgrim flow this time around. This is mainly due to the restrictions imposed by the police on pilgrim movement at Nilackal, Pampa and Sabarimala as part of the security arrangements owing to the protests against the Supreme Court verdict permitting entry for all women to the Ayyappa temple. Police sources said the digital monitors installed at the Valiya Nadapandal had recorded the pilgrim movement through the virtual queue counters from the opening day of the temple as 45,253 persons till 8 p.m. on Friday. The Lower Tirumuttom from where the pilgrims ascend the holy 18-steps (Pathinettampady) wore a deserted look when the temple opened at 3 a.m. on Sunday. This is in sharp contrast to the throng of pilgrims who used to wait inside the thickly packed barricades for long hours during the annual pilgrim season.
Fall in Aravana sale
There was a drastic dip in the sale of Aravana prasadom from the beginning of the season. Highly placed sources told The Hindu that 82,000 tins of Aravana had been sold on the first day of the season. This was against the sale of 1,32,000 tins on the first of the previous season, sources said. Similarly, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has cut the production of Appam owing to the fall in demand. The TDB at present got a stock of three-lakh packets of Appam.
However, TDB sources refused to divulge details of the revenue collection, that include the hundi collection. Meanwhile, Devaswom Commissioner N. Vasu, said the TDB had kept 30-lakh cans of Aravana as buffer stock. Mr. Vasu said the board had made elaborate arrangements for feeding the pilgrims at its Annadana Mandapam.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/fall-in-pilgrim-flow-hits-revenue/article25534450.ece
