The Kerala police have turned Sabarimala into a veritable fortress as the forest shrine prepared to host an estimated 18 lakh devotees, if 2018 figures are any indication, on Makaravilakku day on Monday.
Additional Director General of Police, Manoj Abraham, told The Hindu that roughly 6000 officers have deployed at the pilgrim centre to handle the crowd surge, manage traffic, prevent a stampede, reunite lost persons, usually children and senior citizens, with their groups, curb crime and ensure security.