Amidst the fears of an economic ruin that has engulfed a severely restricted Sabarimala pilgrimage, the number of pilgrims who have visited the hill shrine this season is inching closer to the 50,000 mark.
As per estimates with the Travancore Devaswom Board, around 44,000 pilgrims - mostly from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh, have visited the temple over the first 23 days of the ongoing pilgrimage season till December 8. The number, however, comes in stark contrast to the conventional estimates that the temple typically used to receive one lakh pilgrims on a daily basis during a season.
At the same time, the total income stood at just ₹4.08 crore as against ₹82 crore recorded during the same period last year. Despite the sharp fall, TDB officials regard the revenue figures still substantial as a proportion of the actual turnouts – a maximum of 2,000 persons on weekdays and 3,000 on weekends.
Commenting on the figures, TDB president N.Vasu said the falling revenue would only add to the mounting liabilities of the Board.
“Sabarimala pilgrimage is not about keeping a profit and loss account. But still, the cost of organising the pilgrimage this year is estimated to become at least four times the revenue recorded so far,” he said.
Outside Sabarimala, a stunning emptiness has cast over the entire Pathanamthitta district where the local businesses that thrive on the two-months long season remain mostly shut. The local bodies along the Sabarimala route have also shied away from making any special arrangements for the pilgrims this time.
Mr.Vasu spoke of the plans to revise further the daily number of pilgrims after due consultations with the stakeholder agencies.
“The number of COVID-19 cases in Sabarimala currently remains well under control. An upward revision of pilgrims may be done after taking into consideration the various factors including the trends of COVID-19 spread during the local body polls,” he added.
He also requested the devotees to complete the virtual queue registration before reaching the Nilackal base camp. According to him, several devotees including those from other States have been pouring into the base camp without the online registration, causing a major headache to the officials.
To strengthen COVID-19 resistance measures, the Sannidhanam Executive Magistrate C.P. Satyapalan Nair has directed that all people living in and around the location should undergo mandatory antigen testing every 14 days.
