Sabarimala temple collections soar

Kerala's famed Sabarimala temple received Rs 101 crore (more than $15 million) in collections in the first 25 days of the ongoing two-month festival, an official said on Tuesday.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, the body that runs the temple affairs, said the collections in the same period last season stood at Rs 86 crore. The festival this year began on November 16.

It said the major collections come from sale of 'aravana' (payasam) where it went up from Rs 37 crore to Rs 44 crore, while at the offering box, it rose from Rs 27 crore to Rs 35 crore this season.

The board authorities said the collections will further go up as it's during the second half of the festival -- especially during the first and second week of the new year -- that pilgrims arrive in large numbers before the temple closes in the third week of January.

Situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level, Sabarimala temple is four km uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district, which is around 100 km from the capital city.

The temple, which bars the entry of women who have attained puberty, is accessible only on foot from Pamba.

--IANS

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