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Thousands throng Sabarimala

Staff Reporter

Elaborate arrangements for Makarajyoti darshan today

SEA OF HUMANITY: Pilgrims being blocked at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala on Friday with a view to regulating the crowd at the Sannidhanam.

SABARIMALA: With devotees flocking to Sabarimala to witness Saturday's Makarajyothi, the Sannidhanam has been turned into a sea of humanity.

Pilgrims, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, are camping at makeshift places made of wooden poles and leafy twigs collected from the forests. The forest tracts of Pandithavalom and the grasslands of Uppupara (Pulmedu) have been flooded with Ayyappa devotees.

The loud chants of Ayyappa mantra rent the air. The devotees have already occupied the byways, subways, wayside footpaths and corridors of buildings since Thursday. Devotees are also perched on rooftops of all buildings at vantage points at the Sannidhanam to witness the Makarajyothi, which appears on the eastern horizon on Saturday evening immediately after the `deeparadhana'.

Pilgrim flow regulated

The police have regulated the flow of pilgrims to the Sannidhanam by blocking them at Pampa, on the foothills, Marakkoottom, Saramkuthi and at different paths along the Saramkuthi-Pathinettampadi stretch since Thursday evening.

Additional police forces have been deployed for crowd management during the Makaravilakku. Devaswom Minister K.C. Venugopal, Travancore Devaswom Board president G. Raman Nair and top officials are camping at Sabarimala.

Thiruvabharanam procession

Meanwhile, the Thiruvabharanam procession reached Laha Sathram on Friday. The procession will reach the Sannidhanam and the Ayyappa idol will be adorned with it prior to the deeparadhana on Saturday.

Mr. Raman Nair said the board had made elaborate arrangements for the Makaravilakku. Talking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Nair said that barricades had been erected at Attathode, Pampa hilltop and Paandithavalom. He said that 2.5 lakh cans of aravana had been stocked to meet the heavy demand for prasadom on Saturday.

He said that the TDB had requested the Government to facilitate the release of water from the Kerala State Electricity Board reservoirs to the Pampa on Friday.

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