Revenue from the ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage has touched ₹210 crore, according to Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K. Jayakumar. Of this, ₹106 crore came from the sale of aravana. He said the earnings mark a notable increase compared to previous years.
Addressing the media at the Devaswom Guest House, Jayakumar noted that the pilgrimage season has progressed smoothly so far, without major disruptions. He added that feedback from devotees and the media has been largely positive.
As the pilgrimage season, which began on November 16, completed one month on Wednesday, nearly 28 lakh devotees have had darshan of Lord Ayyappa. Pilgrim arrivals through forest trekking routes have also gone up this year. About 46,690 devotees reached Sannidhanam via the Azhuthakkadavu–Pampa path, while 74,473 arrived through the Sathram route. In total, 25,60,297 pilgrims reached Sabarimala from Pampa. On average, around 4,000 pilgrims are reaching the shrine daily through the Sathram forest route.
Jayakumar said talks are underway with the police and forest departments to better manage the inflow through forest paths, including the possible introduction of special passes for pilgrims using the Erumeli–Azhutha route.
Responding to complaints over delays in refunding advance accommodation deposits, the TDB has decided to set up a special refund counter at the accommodation office from Thursday. Many pilgrims, he said, could not collect their refunds earlier due to heavy crowding at the counters.
