Seven-hour queue for darsan

SABARIMALA: Thousands of pilgrims underwent severe hardships, waiting in long queues for about seven to eight hours, on the trekking path for the darsan of Lord Ayyappa on Saturday. The pilgrims, majority of them belonging to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, were forced to remain in jampacked queues which extended up to Marakoottam. When the shrine was closed after uchcha pooja at 1 p m, thousands were still waiting in the nadapandal for darsan. Lunar eclipse delays darsanThe closure of the temple during the lunar eclipse, from 6.15 p m to 10.15 p m, delayed the darsan for thousands of pilgrims. Since the shrine remained opened only for one and half hours after the eclipse, thousands of pilgrims were forced to remain in the queue for darsan till Sunday. Lack of drinking water Lack of medicated water supply between Marakoottam and Saramkuthi affected the pilgrims. The worst-hit were the aged, women and children. The other factor that affected the pilgrims was the lack of toilet facilities on the trekking path on this stretch. Though the Travancore Devaswom Board assured to take steps to distribute medicated drinking water by opening kiosks between Marakoottam and Saramkuthi, hardly any follow-up action was taken till date. The much-needed queue complex, to be set up by the Travancore Devaswom Board, is yet to be completed. The toilets, which were set up during the last pilgrimage season, are in a dilapidated condition.