Kerala High Court expressed concern over the heavy rush of devotees in Sabarimala..!!

The annual Mandala – Makaravilakku pilgrimage began on Sunday evening in the holy month of Vruschika. As Ayyappa devotees thronged the hill shrine, a woman devotee collapsed in the queue on Tuesday and died. In this context, the High Court, which conducted an inquiry into the congestion, made strong remarks. Within just 48 hours of the temple opening, nearly 2 lakh devotees reached Sabarimala. Among them were children and the elderly. With the sudden influx, it appeared that crowd control had slipped out of hand. ‘Why are devotees being rushed in and out like that? Why is there a need to allow 80 people per minute for darshan? If proper arrangements cannot be made for crowd management, a disaster is inevitable. Why were preparations not made at least six months in advance?’ the court questioned. It ordered that an explanation be submitted by Friday. The court also strongly criticized the authorities for not reducing the virtual queue slots. Although the number of devotees should have been controlled through spot booking, the administration completely failed in doing so. The Devaswom Board itself admitted that an additional 10,000 people climbed the hill. This is clearly against safety standards. ‘If something untoward happens, who will take responsibility?’ the court asked the government and the TDB. It made it clear that unnecessary crowding, which could endanger the safety of devotees, must not be encouraged.