As lakhs of devotees queued up for darshan at the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta, Kerala, on the second day of the annual Makaravilakku pilgrimage season, there were reported complaints of lack of water for pilgrims standing in the line for several hours on Tuesday (November 18, 2025).
Following the complaints and the large crowd of devotees, many of whom had cut the line, on the temple grounds, newly appointed Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K. Jayakumar said 200 additional personnel have been assigned to reach out to the people in the queues and provide them with water.
