Sabarimala Online Room Booking Website Crashes on First Day; Devotees Report Payments Deducted Without Receipts;TDB President Says Technical Issues Will Be Fixed Soon
Thiruvananthapuram: The online room booking system for Sabarimala pilgrims faced a technical breakdown on its very first day of operation, leaving devotees struggling to reserve accommodation for the upcoming Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The booking facility, launched at 5 PM yesterday through the Travancore Devaswom Board's (TDB) official accommodation website, tdbonline.com, began experiencing technical problems soon after going live. The website reportedly continued to crash, preventing devotees from accessing the service and completing their reservations.
Many pilgrims reportedly stayed awake and repeatedly attempted to book rooms until midnight, hoping to secure accommodation. However, persistent technical glitches left several users unable to complete the process.
Adding to the frustration, many devotees reported that money had been deducted from their bank accounts during attempted bookings, but no booking confirmation or payment receipt was generated on the TDB accommodation website. The situation has raised concerns among pilgrims over failed transactions and the status of payments deducted from their accounts.
Accommodation slots from November 16 to 27 were opened on the first day. Bookings for the remaining dates are scheduled to be released daily at midnight (12 AM). Online pooja bookings for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season, covering November 17, 2026, to January 2027, have also been opened.
Meanwhile, TDB President K. Jayakumar said the shortcomings identified in the booking system would be addressed at the earliest. He assured that the technical issues would be resolved and necessary steps taken to ensure that devotees could book rooms without interruptions.
The latest technical issues have raised fresh concerns about the booking system. During the previous month's booking, several agencies were allegedly found to have booked rooms in bulk, leading to controversy over the availability of rooms for individual pilgrims.
Following the incident, the Devaswom Board had announced that necessary changes would be introduced to prevent such practices and improve the booking system. However, the problems encountered on the very first day of the latest booking cycle have raised questions about whether the promised reforms were effectively implemented.
With the pilgrimage season approaching, devotees have called for the immediate restoration of the website, proper verification of failed transactions and refunds or booking confirmations for payments deducted without generating receipts.