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On October 22 (Wednesday), President Droupadi Murmu will become just the second person holding the country’s top post to pray at the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala, said Travancore Devasom Board president P.S. Prasanth. 

Prasanth said the President will arrive in the state capital city on October 21, and the next day she will ride on a helicopter from there to Nilackal.

“From Nilackal, she will reach the foothills of the temple town at Pamba by road. Then she will complete the rituals that are done by all Ayyappa devotees at the Ganapathy temple in Pamba and then go up to the temple,” said Prasanth.

He, however, was non-committal on whether the President would take the road to the temple located at the top of the hill or travel in a jeep.

“There are very strict protocols, and that’s being taken care of by the NSG, but she will follow all the temple rituals, and that’s also taken care of by the NSG,” added Prasanth.

“By 5 p.m., the President will complete her darshan and return. The temple will be open for all devotees on October 21 and 22,” said Prasanth.

Incidentally, Murmu’s visit to the temple was earlier planned to be held in May this year, but following the Operation Sindhoor activity, the visit was cancelled then.

Situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats at an altitude of 3,000 feet above sea level, the famed Sabarimala temple is a four-kilometre uphill trek from Pamba in the Pathanamthitta district, which is around 100 km from the Kerala capital.

Girls and women between the ages of 10 and 50 are not allowed to enter the hilltop shrine.

The temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is accessible only on foot from the Pamba River.

Incidentally, Murmu’s visit is taking place at a time when a Kerala High Court-appointed SIT is probing the alleged theft of the gold plates that are used to cover the entry to the sanctum sanctorum of the famed temple.

Already one person has been arrested, and nine others have been named in the two FIRs that were registered by the SIT.