Online booking, virtual queue system for Sabarimala soon

Pilgrims planning to visit the hill shrine of Sabarimala will soon be able to avail many services online before the start of the pilgrim season November 15.

They can submit offerings, check availability and book rooms on the website which can now be accessed by pilgrims in six languages — Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English. A virtual queue, a free Web-based service that enables pilgrims to reserve their place in a special queue at a specified hour on any day when the shrine is open, on a “first come first serve basis”, is one of the services that is being made available online. A contract was awarded to C-DIT for developing a website incorporating all available services, exclusively for Sabarimala.

“All minute information, including the queue position and timing of temple opening and closing during the pilgrimage season will be intimated through the website,” a senior Devaswom Board official said.

“We will also redesign the Devaswom Board website too incorporating additional services and it can be accessed in Malayalam and English,” Mr Baiju said.

In the initial phase, the computerisation drive will cover Devaswom Board Headquarters and 10 administrative officer level temples, including that in Haripad and Vaikom, besides Sabarimala.