TDB awaits confirmation of the president’s visit

President Droupadi Murmu.

Media reports said President Droupadi Murmu will visit Sabarimala on May 19, and as mentioned earlier, the Travancore Devaswom Board of Directors (TDB) is awaiting official confirmation before the arrangement is initiated.

“As of now, we know the president has not visited,” a TDB official said, admitting they received a message late Monday indicating that the visit to the Hills Shrine may still be beginning. “Based on this information, we held a meeting Tuesday morning, but there is still no clear attitude. If confirmed to be approved, we will make the necessary arrangements as directed by the security agency,” the official added.

The president earlier planned to visit Sabarimala on May 19 to provide prayers in the IDAVAM monthly issue. It is expected that TDB and the state government have begun preparations, including infrastructure development around Helipad and road improvements. However, once the communications access was cancelled, all related activities were put on hold.

In view of the proposed access, TDB initially suspended virtual queue subscriptions from May 18 to 19. However, it later lifted restrictions on these dates and resumed bookings. The temple is scheduled to open five days a month on Wednesday and will be closed on the evening of May 19.

The last visit by the current president to Sabarimala was on April 10, 1973, when President VV Giri headed to Hill Shrine. This visit was not only due to its ritual significance, but also to subsequent tangible developments. Mr Giri had previously visited Sabarimala during his tenure as the governor of Kerala in 1962 and accompanied by his wife Saraswati Giri.

With Giri’s intervention, the expansion of Sabarimala was approved, resulting in major infrastructure projects. His route from Chalakayam to Pampa later developed into Chalakayam-Pampa Road, an important artery for devotees.