Mandala-Makaravilakku Pilgrimage: 400 Rooms for Devotees, AI-Based Crowd Control System Planned at Sabarimala
Kochi: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has submitted a detailed report to the Kerala High Court outlining a series of measures planned at Sabarimala ahead of the upcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, including accommodation for pilgrims and an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based crowd management system.
The Devaswom Bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan and K.V. Jayakumar expressed satisfaction with the reforms proposed by the Board and directed it to ensure strict standards of cleanliness and sanitation. The court also stressed the need to maintain clean toilets, install additional bio-toilets and ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water at Sabarimala.
As part of efforts to improve accommodation, around 400 rooms, excluding those required for officials, will be made available to pilgrims through online booking. The earlier system of collecting a substantial deposit has been discontinued, with pilgrims now required to pay only a non-refundable service charge of ₹50. The Board has also initiated steps to engage professional housekeeping agencies on a contract basis to maintain the rooms.
The TDB said shortcomings reported in previous years in the storage of raw materials required for preparing Appam and Aravana have been addressed.
The Board has also overhauled its tender and auction procedures to improve transparency. A new e-tender-cum-e-auction system has been introduced for shops, hotels and other services. After the e-tender process is completed, bidders will be given one hour for the e-auction, while bidder details will remain confidential until the final bid amount is confirmed. The system has been implemented with technical assistance and training from the Kerala IT Mission.
The Board has reduced the number of tenders from around 300 to fewer than 40 by clubbing similar types of civil works. According to the TDB, the move is expected to speed up project execution and attract more qualified contractors. A dedicated quality inspection team headed by a retired chief engineer has also been assigned to monitor the quality of works.
For Aravana production, the Board plans to procure the required 7,500 metric tonnes of jaggery through two channels. Of this, 6,000 metric tonnes will be procured through e-tendering and the remaining 1,500 metric tonnes through the Central Government’s Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
The Board has also directed the Executive Officer to ensure proper storage and preservation of ghee offered by devotees for use in Aravana production. An advanced laboratory is being set up under the supervision of the Food Safety Commissioner to enable real-time testing of ghee and other food items at Sannidhanam.
A mandatory three-bin waste management system has been introduced at Sabarimala, with separate bins for food waste, biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable waste. The Board will provide standardised bins to shops and establishments and prescribe norms for waste segregation. Robotic and mechanised cleaning systems will also be introduced. With the assistance of the Clean Kerala Company, the Board is removing accumulated electronic and metal waste from the premises.
An AI-based crowd management system is also being developed in coordination with the police to regulate pilgrim movement during periods of heavy rush.
The Board further said it has launched awareness activities through the ‘Sabarimala Sandesh’ magazine, involving pilgrims from neighbouring states, with a focus on the plastic ban and preventing the disposal of clothes at Pampa.
With lakhs of devotees expected during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season, the measures are aimed at strengthening crowd management, accommodation, sanitation, food safety, procurement and overall pilgrim facilities at Sabarimala.