All arrangements are in place for the smooth conduct of the Makaravilakku festival at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Friday.
Purification rituals, including the Bimbasudhi ceremony, were performed at the temple under the leadership of Tantri Mahesh Mohanararu on Thursday.
The Thiruvabharanam, the sacred jewellery of the presiding deity, will be brought to the temple in a procession by Friday evening, which will be followed by Deeparadhana, citing of the Makarajyothi, and the Makarasamkrama Puja.
Taking into account the intensifying COVID-19 situation, authorities have scaled down the earlier projection of 1.5 lakh devotees for the festival by half.The temple and its premises have been brought under a thick blanket of security. Barricades have been erected at various points to regulate devotees and ambulances kept ready to face any emergency situation.
The Pathanamthitta police have rolled out a traffic plan by dividing the district into 13 zones to meet the increased flow of devotees. Further, officers have been deployed at different locations, including at various vantage points, where people are expected to converge to witness the Makarajyothi.In view of the Makaravilakku, the entry of vehicles will be regulated at Nilackalfrom 11 a.m. while no devotees will be permitted to trek up the hill from Pampa after 12 noon on Friday.
Travancore Devaswom Board president K. Ananthagopan saidthe income received during the season stood at ₹128. 84 crore so far. This also included ₹ 5.98 crore and ₹51.47 crore from the sale of Appam and Aravana respectively.