New Sabarimala Guidelines: Camphor Ban & Spot Booking System

The Travancore Devaswom Board has given new instructions for Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees. They have been asked not to bring camphor, incense sticks, and rose water in their Irumudikattu.

The Board President, P.S. Prashanth, announced this decision. A circular will be issued soon.

A letter will also be sent to other temple boards in Kerala, like Kochi and Malabar Devaswom, and to Guruswams of other states.

Concerns About Fire Hazards

The Travancore Devaswom Board is concerned about the risk of fire. Camphor and incense sticks can cause fire accidents.

Although they are used in puja, burning them at Sannidanam is not allowed. Many items brought by devotees are wasted. These items are taken to the crematorium in Panditathavalam and burned. To avoid this, the Devaswom Board has decided to remove such items from the Irumudikattu.

The Chief Priest (Tantri), Rajivaru, had earlier written to the Devaswom Board. He suggested removing incense sticks and camphor from Irumudikattu.

The Board agreed with this suggestion. The letter also mentioned that, in the past, devotees brought rice and coconuts when they walked to the temple. Today, food is available at many places. Devotees are now asked to bring only rice, which can be offered at Sabarimala.

Spot Booking for Pilgrims

The Devaswom Board has clarified the system for spot booking.

This will be available for devotees visiting Sabarimala during Mandal Pujas.

Devotees who do not have virtual queue bookings can book their spot at three locations.

They must have an Azdhaar card for spot booking. A special pass with a photo will be given to pilgrims who book their spot. The pass will show all details of the pilgrim, using a QR code.

The Devaswom Board will allow 10,000 pilgrims to visit Sabarimala per day through spot booking.

In addition, 70,000 people can visit through the virtual queue system. Spot booking counters will be set up at Pamba, Erumeli, and Satram.

The number of counters at Pamba will be increased to manage the crowd. However, there are concerns that the traffic at Pamba will increase.

This is because there will be no spot booking counters at Nilakkal and Pantalam.

Officials have assured that arrangements will be made to ensure no pilgrims leave without having darshan of Lord Ayyappa.