Reportedly the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) said twenty eight days into the annual two monthlong pilgrimage season, revenue collection at sabarimala crossed Rs 104 crore on sunday as against Rs 64 crore in the same period last year. Meanwhile the TDB, which manages the hill shrine, said the temple earned Rs 104.72 crore revenue after it opened for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage on november 17.
TDB president N Vasu told reporters "As of today, the total revenue since the temple opened on november 17 is Rs 104.72 crore. Last year on the same day it was Rs 64.16 crore. We have to count coins worth Rs 5 crore. We will calculate the value by weighing the coins with the permission of the court". Furthermore he said the revenue earned was through donations for organising Annadanam (free food for pilgrims), sale of prasadam including 'appam' and 'aravana' and cash and coins received as donations to the deity. Earlier the temple and TDB had suffered huge revenue losses as the shrine and nearby areas witnessed massive protests by a section of devotees and right wing political parties over the september 28, 2018 supreme court order, allowing entry of women of all ages into the shrine.
Moreover the Apex court had on november 14 this year said a larger seven-judge bench would re-examine various religious issues, including the entry of women into the sabarimala temple and mosques and the practice of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community.
