THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, December 12, 2022 (India Today): Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair a meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the arrangements needed for controlling the crowd in Sabarimala temple. Meanwhile, there has been a record-breaking booking for darshan on Monday. Additional arrangements are being made to manage the crowd since around 107,260 devotees have made bookings for darshan on Monday at Sabarimala. This is the highest booking of this season. This is the second time in this season that bookings have crossed the one hundred thousand mark. In view of the increase in the number of Sabarimala pilgrims, police have made special arrangements to control the rush.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court, in a special sitting on Sunday, December 11, suggested extending the worship time for devotees on busy days. The court also directed the police and district collector to take measures to control the crowd. The HC further said that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), in consultation with the tantri (head priest) of Sabarimala, could consider keeping the sanctum sanctorum open for another 30 minutes or an hour. An increase in footfall has resulted in crowd management and traffic control issues. The 41-day Mandala puja festival will conclude on December 27. After that, the temple will be opened again on December 30 for the Makaravilakku pilgrimage, which will end on January 14, 2023. The shrine will be closed on January 20, 2023, concluding the pilgrimage season.
More at source.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/record-breaking-booking-darshan-sabarimala-cm-vijayan-to-chair-meet-on-crowd-control-2308111-2022-12-12