Sabarimala records fall in revenue by Rs 146 crore

As the first phase of the Sabarimala pilgrimage ended with 'Mandala pooja' on Saturday, the temple recorded a fall in revenue by around Rs 146 core.

According to sources, while the revenue during the first phase of the pilgrimage last year was Rs 156 crore, this year it was only Rs 9.09 crore. The temple required up to Rs 50 lakh for the daily expenses and hence the fall in revenue had badly affected the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that manages the temple.

TDB president N Vasu said that after the Kerala High Court enhanced the daily limit of pilgrims to 5,000, there was a slight increase in temple revenue. On Friday the daily revenue was close to Rs 50 lakh.

As many as 71,706 pilgrims visited the temple during the first phase of pilgrimage that began on November 16. A total of 390 persons were tested Covid-19 positive of which 289 were employees of various departments.

The daily number of pilgrims allowed at Sabarimala was initially fixed at 1,000 for weekdays and 2,000 for weekends. It was later increased to 2,000 and 3,000 respectively considering the plea of the TDB that manages the temple citing the steep fall in revenue from the temple.

The Kerala High Court recently ordered that up to 5,000 pilgrims may be allowed darshan at the temple. RTPCR test is also made mandatory for pilgrims. But the Kerala government had moved Supreme Court against it.

The temple will reopen for the Makaravilaku pilgrimage on January 30.