Sabarimala temple reopens for a day; To open on Nov 15 for Makaravilakku festival

Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple opened on Tuesday, November 2 for a day for the devotees on the occasion of the Chithira Aattathirunal. The temple closed at 9 pm after the puja, allowing only a selected number of devotees to enter. According to the announcement made by the Travancore Devaswom Board, the temple will reopen on November 15 for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival and pilgrimage, which lasts for two months.

The Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple is all set to open from Monday, November 15. For the unversed, the temple will reopen for the Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival, which is a two-month-long annual event. The event concludes a few days after Makara Sankranti in January, which will also see the temple close again. The Mandalakala Vratham begins on the first day in the Malayalam month of Vrishchikam, which falls on November 17.

During the period, devotees can visit the Sabarimala Temple situated within the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. Devotees will only be permitted entry through virtual queue booking. Apart from the booking, devotees will have to produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing they're fully vaccinated or show an RTPCR negative report not older than 72 hrs.

Moreover, the health department will also set up COVID-19 testing centres at Nilakkal along with five emergency medical centres to provide assistance to devotees. According to the temple officials, only 25,000 devotees will be allowed to visit the shrine per day in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Devotees as well as the staff member will also need to follow proper COVID-19 norms and maintain social distancing within the premises.

Appointment of head chief for Sabarimala Temple 

The last opening of the temple in October witnessed the appointment of a new chief priest for the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples who will be holding tenure of one year. N Parameswaran Namboothiri of Thattarambalam in Mavelikkara was selected as the new chief priest of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple and Shambhu Namboothiri of Kuruvakkattu Illam in Kozhikode was elected for the Malikappuram Devi temple. The new priests were selected on October 17 via draw of lots after the 'Ushapoojas'. A total of 9 candidates were shortlisted for the post. 

Image: PTI