Online Booking For Makara Jyothi At Sabarimala Opens

Oct 12, 2021, 16:06 IST

From November 16, the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, Kerala, will see a surge of pilgrims.

After a meeting earlier this month to review the Covid-19 situation in the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to allow worshippers to enter Sabrimala during the pilgrimage season.

Mandala-Makaravilakku at the famous Sabarimala shrine in Kerala is now available for online booking. According to Dinamalar and other local publications, the bookings began on Monday.

The Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season begins on November 16, and only 25,000 worshippers will be allowed admission each day during the first several days.

According to local media, bookings can be made on Sabarimala's official website by inputting necessary details and images of worshippers.

After a meeting earlier this month to review the state's Covid-19 situation, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to allow worshippers to enter during the pilgrimage season. The state ministers of Devasom, transport, forest, health, and water resources, as well as the state police head, were in attendance.

The virtual queuing system would be maintained, and only individuals who had received two vaccine doses or had a negative RT-PCR report would be allowed to enter the temple, according to other criteria agreed at the conference for limiting the rush of pilgrims to Sabarimala.

Aside from these restrictions, automobiles will only be permitted up to Nilackal, after which KSRTC buses will be used to reach the Pampa River, where swimming permission has been obtained, according to the announcement.

Devotees who are not Covid-19 positive but suffer from comorbidities should come for the pilgrimage only after a health check-up, according to the chief minister.