Minister Vasavan says everyone will get darshan; no spot booking at Sabarimala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan stated on Sunday that there will be no spot bookings at Sabarimala. However, he also guaranteed that no devotee visiting the Lord Ayyappa temple during the yearly Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season will be denied 'darshan'.

The assurance came a day after the BJP threatened to carry out agitations if the government goes ahead with its plan to not allow spot booking and permit darshan only through the virtual queue system.

In the virtual queue system, pilgrims can book their darshan tickets and prasadam online through the official website of the Sabarimala temple, PTI reported.

In spot booking, pilgrims can book slots for their darshan at designated centres identified by the Devaswom Board.

The opposition Congress-led UDF too has been urging the government to retain spot booking along with the virtual queue booking as it cannot expect all the devotees to be familiar with the technology.

Vasavan said that the president of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex body that manages the Sabarimala Temple, had recently assured that all pilgrims who come to the temple will get 'darshan' of Lord Ayyappa.

The minister also said that while spot booking at Sabarimala was not going to be allowed, Akshaya centres will be set up at 'edathavalams' (rest or waiting areas on the route to the temple), for booking slots for the pilgrims.

"So, no one who comes for the pilgrimage after following all the rituals will be denied the opportunity of darshan," Vasavan said.

Akshaya centres are Common Service Centers (CSC) envisioned to deliver government to citizens, government to business as well as business to citizen services to the public under a single roof.

The minister said that the government and the TDB fixed the number of pilgrims per day at 80,000 to ensure a smooth and safe pilgrimage for all devotees.

BJP state president K Surendran had a day ago said that they would go to the Lord Ayyappa temple without online booking and would stage protests if anybody blocked them.

Even the CPI, the second largest coalition partner in the ruling LDF, had suggested that it was better to allow on-the-spot booking also along with virtual queue booking.