As the annual pilgrimage season in Sabarimala in Kerala is set to conclude on Friday, revenue at the hill temple recorded an all-time high of ₹320 crore as on January 14, said a senior temple board official.
The earlier highest revenue was in 2018 amounting to ₹260 crore and the present pilgrimage which took place after two years due to Covid pandemic, broke all previous records, statistics with the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) showed.
The TDB manages day to day affairs of the shrine.
“Both footfall and revenue are quite high. Counting of coins is still continuing and a clear picture will emerge in a couple of days. On Makara Sankranti (January 14) day, more than two lakh pilgrims trekked to the temple. Thanks to the help of various departments and pilgrims’ co-operation everything went smooth,” said TDB president Ananthagopan.
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Revenue from Sabarimala feeds many small temples in Travancore region of the state and also pays salaries of the TDB.
The TDB president said the main revenue remained “aravana payasam,” a black kheer made of rice, jaggery, ghee and cardamom.
It comprised more than 60% revenue of the temple, he said.
Last month, the high court had intervened and limited daily numbers of pilgrims to 90,000 but it was waived during auspicious days.
The temple had witnessed stampede-like situations a few times during the annual pilgrimage season (mid-November to mid-January).
The hill-top shrine is situated in Periyar tiger reserve in Western Ghats mountain ranges in Pathanamthitta district.
Pilgrims from across the country throng the shrine during the annual festival season between November and January.
