Sabarimala darshan: Spot booking capped at five thousand every day
Pathanamthitta (Kerala) (PTI): Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Thursday announced that spot booking for Sabarimala darshan has been capped at 5,000 people per day, officials said on Thursday.
The spot booking was capped following the Kerala High Court's direction, a press release said.
Spot booking will be available only at the Nilakkal and Vandiperiyar centres. The facility has been temporarily suspended at Pampa, Erumeli, and Chengannur and the restrictions will remain in place until November 24, officials said. TDB has urged devotees arriving for Sabarimala darshan to secure their slots through the Virtual Queue system as far as possible. Devotees must arrive on the date and time allotted to them for the darshan.
Kerala High Court's division bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar criticised TDB, saying that the situation at the shrine had recently spiralled out of control as nearly two lakh pilgrims arrived within 48 hours of the temple opening on November 17.
With nearly one lakh pilgrims were allowed darshan every day during the Mandalam–Makaravilakku season and more than 50 lakh visiting annually, the judges said the present arrangements were far from adequate.
Meanwhile, a review meeting of various departments was held at Sabarimala on Thursday to assess the arrangements for the ongoing Mandala–Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The meeting, chaired by Additional District Magistrate Arun S Nair, evaluated that the crowd at the hill shrine has now been brought under control. He said that a smooth and safe darshan has been ensured for all devotees.
The meeting noted that the shortcomings seen during the initial days have been fully resolved.
The meeting discussed issues such as emergency medical assistance, crowd management, sanitation, drinking water, and food.
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Snowfall blocks two key roads providing alternative connectivity to Kashmir
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): Traffic on the Mughal and Sinthan Top roads, which provide alternate connectivity to Kashmir, was temporarily suspended on Sunday due to light to moderate snowfall in the high-altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
However, traffic on the 270-kilometre Jammu-Srinagar national highway -- the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country -- was plying as usual despite intermittent rains that ended the over one-and-a-half months long dry spell, they said.
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The Mughal road, which connects the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri with south Kashmir's Shopian, was closed for traffic as a precautionary measure after more than three inches of snow was recorded at Peer Ki Gali on Sunday afternoon.
A group of three tea vendors are left stranded on the road and efforts are on to evacuate them to safety, officials said.
After they were trapped in the snow, the vendors made passionate appeals through video messages urging the authorities to rescue them. The Border Roads Organisation has taken up snow clearance work and is trying to reach the stranded persons, officials said.
The Sinthan Top road, which connects Kishtwar and Doda districts in Jammu with south Kashmir's Anantnag, was also closed after moderate snowfall in the higher reaches.
Both the mountainous roads usually remain closed for several months due to heavy snowfall during winter.
