New Delhi: Massive protests have broken out in Kerala over the 'mismanagement' at the Sabarimala temple which has been witnessing an extremely high footfall of pilgrims this year. The protests came a day after an 11-year-old girl died after falling unconscious amid the trek to reach the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.
The number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala has steeply risen since December 6, leading to massive queues at the hillock temple. Some of the visitors claim that they had to wait for over 18 hours. Several of them have jumped barricades leading to a stampede-like situation and chaotic scenes on the steps.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked officials to bring in checks to control the situation without causing inconvenience to the pilgrims. At an emergency meeting, a decision was also made to reduce the virtual queue booking limit by 10,000, setting the new maximum to 80,000 per day. The darshan timing has also been extended by an hour.
BJP Yuva Morcha workers are protesting outside the Secretariat in Sabarimala accusing the state government of mismanagement. The youth body claims that not only is there a long queue, but also a lack of basic facilities on the route to the shrine.
"Chief Minister is saying they didn't expect such a crowd. The pilgrims are suffering without food, water, and basic needs," BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan said.
The grim situation has prompted the Kerala High Court to direct authorities to support the pilgrims visiting the shrine.
"The Travancore Devaswom Board shall consider whether the pilgrims can be provided with drinking water and biscuits at such locations through NSS volunteers in educational institutions or with the assistance of the concerned Local Self Government Institutions," the court said.
The court also asked the police not to allow overcrowding of devotees in the queue complex and to keep it clean every day.