This was stated by State Devaswom Affairs Minister G Sudhakaran at a news conference in Sabarimala after witnessing the Makaravilakku on Monday.

“Already 3.25 crore devotees have visited the temple during the past two months. Another 25 lakh are expected in the coming five days,” he said.

Another speciality of the Sabarimala is that people of all religions and castes are allowed to visit the temple though menstruating women are kept out. “I met eminent jurists, leaders, bureaucrats and film personalities clad in simple attire. Such an atmosphere of love, affection and respect for each other, irrespective of social status, is rare. This is phenomenal and incomparable. The government has decided to endorse a Guinness nomination for the temple,” Mr Sudhakaran said.

The CPM leader visited the shrine to witness the Makara Jyoti, claimed to be a celestial light, though he neither prayed nor accepted the prasadam offered by the priest, as communists are self-professed atheists. Other VIPs present during the occasion included former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and actors Jayaram and Vivek Oberoi.

The minister said he spent four days at the hillock to ensure an incident-free pilgrimage. According to him, the revenue collection at Sabarimala during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku period was higher than that of last year. The revenue collection as on Sunday evening was Rs  72.52 crore against previous year’s Rs 72.35 crore. Despite the unprecedented hiccups, revenue from aravana prasadam sale during the Makaravilakku period alone was put at Rs 8 crore, up from Rs 7.18 crore of that in previous year.