The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has said that after December 26, Sabarimala pilgrims must carry a Covid-19 negative certificate after undergoing an RT-PCR test, following which they will be allowed to visit the hill shrine.
“As the Makaravilakku festival season begins from December 31 to January 19, 2021, Sabarimala pilgrims who are found not carrying the RT-PCRCovid-19 negative certificate will not be allowed to scale the hill,” TDB president N Vasu, adding that pilgrims must undergo RT-PCR test not more than 48 hours before visiting Sabarimala temple.
Earlier, an antigen test certificate would suffice for pilgrims to visit the hill shrine, however, with the increase in cases at Sabarimala, it was made mandatory to carry RT-PCR test certificate.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has granted consent for permitting 5,000 pilgrims from Sunday. Before the Kerala HC permission, from Monday to Friday only 2,000 pilgrims were allowed to visit the shrine at once. On weekends, 3,000 pilgrims were allowed to visit the shrine.
