Thiruvananthapuram:� The Congress-led UDF opposition on Wednesday urged the state government to implement spot booking of slots for pilgrims during the upcoming annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, submitted in the House that confining booking of slots to online mode and restricting the number to 80,000 per day would adversely affect thousands of pilgrims, including those from other states, who are not computer-literate.
He said such pilgrims who come for the pilgrimage after completing the 41-day fasting period would be denied an opportunity to pray at the shrine and may create serious problems in the state.
Satheesan urged the government to urgently consider permitting spot booking of slots during the pilgrimage season. Disagreeing with the opposition contention, state Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan said that the decision to restrict the number of pilgrims to 80,000 and only permit online booking was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 5.
Vasavan said that in the meeting it was considered that the number of pilgrims exceeded 80,000 in the previous year when spot booking was permitted and resulted in difficulties ensuring all necessary facilities for devotees for a smooth pilgrimage.
"Therefore, it was decided to confine the number of pilgrims per day to 80,000 and permit only spot booking," the minister said. He further said that at the time of virtual queue booking, the pilgrims would get a chance to choose their travel route also.