In compliance with a High Court order, the Kerala government has transferred the ownership of the virtual queue system, which allows devotees to book their darshan at Sabarimala in advance, to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).
At a meeting of top TDB and government officials on Monday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State police would help the TDB run the system. Law enforcement would chip in with vetting visitors and managing pilgrim inflow to prevent law and order issues and stampedes.
Mr. Vijayan said Sabarimala faced several security threats and police control of the pilgrim centre was imperative to pre-empt any untoward incidents.
Better IT division
The TDB, in turn, would strengthen its IT division. The police would train TDB staff to man the permanent check-posts at Pampa and Nilackal. The TDB would also manage the spot booking centres during the pilgrimage season.
Sabarimala had witnessed aggressive protests and waylaying of pilgrims following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow women of all ages entry into the temple in 2018. The demonstrations manifested in attacks on police, journalists, women pilgrims and destruction of private and public property in the pilgrim locality and outside.
The High Court had ordered establishing an online reservation system for pilgrims after the Pulmedu stampede that claimed 106 lives during the Makaravilakku festival season in 2011. In April 2022, the HC directed the government to hand over the reins of the system to the TDB.
Police to access data
Nevertheless, the Division Bench stressed that the police be allowed to access the data of pilgrims registering online and those opting for spot booking to mitigate security threats to the temple and regulate crowd flow.
The court said analysing data to uphold law and order, and predicting or diminishing security threats were not tantamount to violating an individual’s privacy. The court also observed that the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple was deep inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Its location was unique and remote.
Hence, in the public interest, the police had the inalienable right to enforce crowd control and ensure law and order in the locality, including the shrine.
Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan, TDB president K. Anandagopan, and Chief Secretary V.P. Joy attended the meeting.
