With just hours left for the Makaravilakku festival at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, almost all vantage points at the hillock here have been occupied by pilgrims.
Devotees have been camping at makeshift tents erected at different locations, waiting to catch a glimpse of the celestial light, Makarajyothi. The crowd on the hillock had begun to swell from Friday evening itself. The curbs on entry of people notwithstanding, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) expects up to two lakh people to attend the festival on Monday and has arranged 10 points in the hillock for worshipping the Deeparadhana ritual to be performed at Ponnambalamedu — a remote hill in the shola forests facing the Sannidhanam.
Thiruvabharanam
The procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam (sacred jewellery) will reach the Sannidhanam by Monday evening. The TDB will accord a reception to the jewel boxes first at Saramkuthy and then at the Sannidhanam. The presiding deity will be adorned with the Thiruvabharanam prior to the Deeparadhana ritual.
Virtual queue bookings
Meanwhile, the authorities have limited the virtual queue bookings for Tuesday to 50,000 while from January 17 to 20, the virtual queue bookings per day has been raised to 70,000. The spot booking facility, which has been suspended since January 10, will be restored from Tuesday. The pilgrims will be permitted to trek up the hill till January 20 evening. The annual pilgrimage season will draw to a close with a representative of the Pandalam royal family visiting the temple on January 21 morning.
“The Tamil Nadu government has sent a stock of 80 lakh biscuits for the pilgrims while we have ensured the distribution of medicinal water round the clock, besides free meals thrice a day,” said P.S. Prashanth, president, TDB.
Hotels inspected
As part of the preparations for Makaravilakku, a team led by the Pathanamthitta District Collector A. Shibu on Sunday inspected the hotels and shops functioning at the Pampa and Nilackal base camps. Inspections were also completed in establishments where cooking gas is used. The authorities have ensured that the fire hydrants at all points are operational and arranged the services of Fire and Rescue Services personnel.
