Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala opened for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival on Thursday

The doors of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala opened for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival on Thursday, signalling the start of a two-month-long annual pilgrimage season. The departing head priest, K. Jayaraman Namboothiri, was not present when temple chief priest Kandararu Mahesh Mohanararu opened the sanctuary sanctorum. The inauguration of the Upadevata temples and the transfer of the fearful fire to the Aazhi came next.

Present at the event was P.S. Prasanth, the head of the Travancore Devaswom Board, M. Manoj, the Sabarimala Special Commissioner, A. Shibu, the district collector of Pathanamthitta, and others.

Later in the day, P.N. Mahesh and Murali P.G., the newly chosen Melsanthis for the Ayyappa and Malikappuram Devi temples, were installed. For the next year, the newly appointed Melsanthis will be in charge of their respective temples.

On the other hand, the season's first day started off well, with a sizable influx of pilgrims visiting the hill temple. Despite the intense downpours, the pilgrims who had started sleeping at Pampa on Wednesday night were permitted access to the mountaintop starting on Thursday afternoon. With the limits lifted last season, the two-month season that used to draw millions of devotees annually before the pandemic outbreak in the 2019–20 season, resumed in full force.

An estimated 50 lakh pilgrims visited the temple last year, bringing in over ₹350 crore in income, according to government figures. Meanwhile, the authorities expect a significant increase in pilgrim traffic this season, particularly from the bordering States. 

Up to 13,000 police officers will be put on duty in six stages to control the gathering, and a tight monitoring system has been installed around the pilgrimage area. Three makeshift police stations have been established: one in each of the following locations: Sannidhanam, Nilackal, and Vadasserikkara. In and around Nilackal, parking has been organised in 17 areas, and up to 15 counters have been created for virtual lines.

About 3,000 people from the Fire and Rescue Services will be sent out, including teams with dive and climbing training. The Fire and Rescue Services' Director General, K. Padmakumar, established a control centre at Pampa to oversee the department's operations. To protect pilgrims' automobiles, the Motor automobiles Department launched the Sabarimala safe zone scheme.