KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) over the chaotic situation at Sabarimala, where thousands of pilgrims were reportedly stranded amid severe crowd mismanagement and inadequate arrangements.
The bench observed that there was a complete lack of coordination in crowd control and questioned why preparations had not begun six months in advance, despite the known surge in devotees during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season.
Incidentally, the two-month-long pilgrimage season opened on Monday amidst utter confusion and massive crowds with poor arrangements.
The High Court also remarked that merely frisking pilgrims and pushing them forward without considering capacity was a "wrong approach".
It sought clarification from the TDB on the maximum number of pilgrims the hill shrine could safely accommodate at any given time, and demanded detailed capacity figures for each sector.