Millions witness Makar Jyothi at Sabarimala

SABARIMALA:
Millions of devotees
Wednesday viewed the Makar Jyothi, or the celestial
light, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, marking the
end of the three-month Sabarimala pilgrim season.

As soon as the first celestial light flickered on the
horizon of the hill shrine at 6.45 p.m., the Sabari
hills and the foothills at Pampa reverberated with religious
chants. The lights flickered two more times.

P. Narayanan, a member of the Travancore Devasom Board,
quoted the police as saying that the number of pilgrims
Wednesday was around 3.5 million.

‘Despite this massive crowd, everything went on smoothly,’
he said.

Present at the site was Kerala Devasom Minister G.
Sudhakaran, a communist. Barring him all others waited
with folded hands when the temple priests came out to
bless them.

Hindi film actor Vivek Oberoi and popular Malayalam
star Jayaram were among the devotees.

Devotees carrying ‘Irumudi’ on their heads thronged
an area of nearly 10-km radius around the temple as
they vied for a vantage point to witness the Jyothi
and pray.

Chants of ‘Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa’ rent the air as
the Jyothi was sighted shortly after the rising of the
Makar star.

The Sabarimala temple is situated on the Western Ghat
ranges at an altitude of 914 metres above the sea level
in Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala.

The number of pilgrims visiting the shrine has been
going up every year.

An estimated four crore devotees visited the
hill shrine since mid-November and the total income
during the pilgrimage season crossed Rs 100 crore surpassing
all the previous records.

In the wake of terrorist strikes in different parts
of the country, heavy security had been provided at
Sabarimala to ensure the safety of pilgrims all through
the season.

State and central police personnel, Rapid Action Force
team, armed commandos, disaster management team and
fire and rescue brigade have formed part of the imposing
security cover.

The co-ordination of 22 government departments and
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) under the supervision
of the high power committee headed by Additional Chief
Secretary K Jayakumar has been widely seen as the main
reason behind the smooth conduct of the festival.

TDB sources said the temple received around Rs 71,95,28,468
during the Mandala season as against Rs 50,82,33,932
last year. During the ‘Makara Vilakku’ season this year,
Rs 27,97,46,065 was collected while the collection last
year was nearly Rs 22,25,33,876.

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