Devotees Flock to Sabarimala as Pilgrimage Season Begins

The Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple opened its doors for the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage, with thousands of devotees present. The 41-day pilgrimage begins in the Malayalam month of Vrichikam. A new localised weather forecasting system has been introduced to manage environmental challenges during this season.

Thousands of devotees gathered at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple on Friday evening as the temple opened a day before the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage.

The 41-day pilgrimage is set to start in the auspicious Malayalam month of Vrichikam. Temple sources reported that the sanctum sanctorum was opened by current head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru and his successor, Kandararu Brahmadathan, with chief priest P N Mahesh Namboothiriri leading the rituals.

A new localised weather forecasting system, introduced by the India Meteorological Department, aims to address the environmental challenges of the pilgrimage. The government has established a virtual queue system allowing 70,000 devotees daily, with an additional 10,000 permitted via booking counters.

(With inputs from agencies.)