Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the Travancore Devaswom Board is making elaborate arrangements at the Lord Ayyappa temple ahead of the upcoming annual pilgrimage season despite attempts to create misunderstandings.
Lavishing praise on the TDB, Vijayan said the apex temple body is implementing various new initiatives at the hill temple in view of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season beginning by mid-November.
The CM was speaking after inaugurating the platinum jubilee celebration of the TDB in a function here.
"Efforts are now on to complete the construction of the Sabari guest house. At Nilakkal, facilities to park over 2000 vehicles are now being prepared," he said, elaborating various programmes of the TDB.
Steps have also been taken to ensure the adequate availability of 'aravana', one of the major offerings at the Lord Ayyappa shrine, the CM said, adding that the temple board is making several such initiatives ahead of the upcoming pilgrimage season.
Apparently referring to the recent controversies over spot booking, Vijayan said attempts to create misunderstandings among people were also on, but he didn't want to elaborate much about that.
The Kerala government, last week, made it clear that the pilgrims who visit Sabarimala without virtual queue booking would also be provided smooth darshan at the Lord Ayyappa temple.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government backtracked from its earlier decision to provide darshan only through online registration during the upcoming pilgrimage season amidst widespread protest.