Sabarimala Ayyappa temple faces aravana shortage, 1 tin limit enforced
Devotees at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple are facing an Aravana shortage, with just over 5,000 tins left for around 17,000 devotees expected at the temple before it closes at 10pm on Monday.
To manage the crunch, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has limited everyone to one tin each, leading to long queues and some disappointment.
The shortage happened after the Aravana plant had to pause for maintenance just ahead of the opening of the hill shrine for the five day monthly puja on September 16.
TDB raises Aravana output, targets 50L+
To make sure this does not happen again, TDB is boosting daily production from 2 lakh to 2.25 lakh tins to around 3.25 lakh tins.
It is aiming to stockpile more than 5 million tins before the busy Mandalam Makaravilakku festival kicks off in November.
The board says it is keeping a close eye on crowd numbers and adjusting plans so every devotee gets his or her share next time.