Home Minister Issues Strict Instructions to Police on Sabarimala Duty; Spot Booking for Additional Pilgrims Proposed
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has issued strict directions to police personnel deployed for duty at Sabarimala, stressing the need for a compassionate approach towards pilgrims and heightened vigilance in handling road accidents.
The Minister directed police officers to interact with pilgrims in a courteous and sympathetic manner and ensure that devotees arriving for darshan are not stopped under any circumstances. He also instructed the authorities to introduce a spot booking facility to accommodate pilgrims arriving in excess of the advance booking limit.
As part of the security arrangements at Sabarimala, the CCTV surveillance system will be completed within 40 days. The Virtual Queue booking system will facilitate darshan for up to 70,000 pilgrims per day.
The Minister also called for extensive publicity for the advance booking system, including in other states, to ensure that pilgrims are aware of the arrangements before beginning their pilgrimage.
He further directed that only experienced police officers be deployed for Sabarimala duty. Police personnel assigned to duty at the Pathinettam Padi (18 Holy Steps) should also be provided with cotton gloves, according to the directions issued at a meeting held on September 29.
The annual Sabarimala Mandala pilgrimage season will begin on November 17 this year. The Travancore Devaswom Board has stated that the maintenance and preparatory works ahead of the pilgrimage season will be completed by October 30.
Meanwhile, arrangements for booking rooms at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam have been shifted completely to the online system. Under the new arrangement introduced by the Travancore Devaswom Board, 400 rooms will be made available for online booking every day from the Thulamasa Pooja period.
The measures are aimed at streamlining pilgrim management, improving security and ensuring a smoother pilgrimage experience during the upcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku season.