Crowd control steps at Sabarimala stretched on 2nd day of pilgrimage

AN unprecedented surge of devotees in the opening days of the Sabarimala season caught the authorities unawares, throwing crowd management arrangements haywire and leaving pilgrims stranded in queues for over 10 hours without food or water on Tuesday. Many of them collapsed from exhaustion.

- JAISON WILSON @ Sabarimala

More than two lakh pilgrims reached Sannidhanam in the first 48 hours of the season, far exceeding the daily quota of 90,000 (including 70,000 virtual queue bookings). Till noon on Tuesday alone, 44,401 pilgrims completed darshan. Darshan hours were extended till 2 pm, and barricades near the 18 holy steps were breached leading to a chaotic situation. In previous years, only 40,000 to 50,000 pilgrims visited the hill shrine per day in the initial days of the season, authorities said.