On the 17th of October, the famous Sabarimala Shrine of Kerala, re opened for devotees.
The temple of lord Ayyapa was opened nearly around 7 months since the first lockdown was imposed.
On the 24th of March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced the first lockdown in the wake of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala allowed the temple to be open for devotees with a set of guidelines and protocols amid the Novel Coronavirus.
According to sources, devotees going for darshan need to carry a COVID-19 negative certificate, 48 hours prior to their journey.
In addition, only 250 devotees would be allowed in a day for the darshan. On the 17th of October, as many as 246 devotees registered to offer prayers at the shrine.
As per the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB,) only 250 people would be allowed each day and booking would be done on a first come first serve basis.
Rapid antigen tests will be conducted at Nilackal for those devotees who fail to carry a COVID-19 negative test report.
Only those between 10-60 years with a medical certificate which states that they are fit to trek the holy hill are allowed to offer prayers.
The TBD also said, “There would be no accommodation for devotees at Sabarimala. In addition to the regular poojas, Udayasthamana and Padi poojas, however, would be held.”
In addition, the administration arranged toilet and bathroom facilities at Pampa, Nilakkal and Sannidhanam, while sanitisers, soap and water have been arranged at various points.
Meanwhile, Kerala has a total of 2,28,998 positive COVID-19 cases, of which 95,008 are active cases, 2,28,998 recovered/discharged and 1,113 deceased.
Stay tuned for further updates.
