HC comes up with set of suggestions to improve pilgrim management at Sabarimala

Kochi: High court has put forward a set of suggestions to TDB and state govt for improving pilgrim management at Sabarimala for the next season, including the constitution of a Sabarimala infrastructure and crowd management expert committee, the establishment of a festival office at Pamba and restructuring of the virtual queue system by introducing a nominal and refundable security deposit for each reservation slot.The bench of Justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar issued the directions in a suo motu case initiated to address overcrowding of pilgrims. The proposed expert committee shall comprise specialists in transport engineering, urban and regional planning, civil engineering, disaster and crowd science, environmental science, public health, and IT and data analytics, ensuring a multidisciplinary approach. HC directed the govt to place a panel of experts on or before April 8 for constituting the committee.HC directed that a new festival office at Pamba be made functional from April 15, and that board meetings relating to Sabarimala be held there to ensure continuous monitoring and supervision. It also suggested that comprehensive review meetings chaired by the devaswom minister be held before and during the pilgrimage. A standalone Sabarimala festival budget within the overall TDB budget was also proposed.In addition, HC recommended upgrading the virtual queue system with real-time updates and cancellation options. It suggested introducing a nominal security deposit for each booking, to be refunded upon arrival within the allotted time or adjusted against prasadam of equivalent value. If a devotee fails to arrive within the scheduled window, the amount may be forfeited to deter speculative bookings, slot-blocking and last-minute crowd surges.The court said that the queue complex from Marakoottam to Sannidhanam must have a minimum holding capacity of 24,000 pilgrims. It proposed that the existing Valiya Nadappanthal be converted into a two-storied structure, with the first floor serving as a holding area for pilgrims awaiting darshan. A separate queue complex at Malikappuram was suggested for pilgrims without Irumudi and for second-time darshan to reduce congestion in the main queue.HC also stated that no permanent or temporary structures be permitted within 100 metres from the sanctum sanctorum, except those essential for ritualistic purposes. Pilgrim flow through the traditional Kananapatha forest route from Erumeli should be capped at 5,000 per day. Additional resting places must be set up on the Appachimedu-Saramkuthi stretch. A large number of stone benches/seats must be provided on both sides of the trek route. Large LED display boards must be installed at Marakoottam, Nilakkal and the entry points of all queue complexes.The court suggested an AI-based integrated command and control centre for effective inter-departmental coordination and scientific crowd management. It further proposed the use of AI-based drones for real-time monitoring the crowd. Additionally, HC directed TDB to implement RFID technology to track pilgrim movement across key nodes, enabling real-time assessment of crowd density, waiting periods and congestion points for dynamic decision-making.