Kerala High Court Requests Government Guidelines for Sabarimala Pilgrimage Amid Nipah Outbreak

The Kerala High Court has called upon the state government to consider issuing guidelines, as deemed necessary, for the upcoming pilgrimage to Sabarimala, especially in light of the ongoing Nipah virus outbreak in Kozhikode district.

The court has directed the commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board to engage in discussions with the health secretary and make a decision regarding the pilgrimage arrangements.

The Sabarimala hilltop shrine, located in Pathanamthitta district, traditionally opens for a five-day period each Malayalam month, with the upcoming month’s opening scheduled for pilgrims on Sunday.

Simultaneously, the state government has informed the court of the implementation of restrictions in the northern Kozhikode district, where a new case of Nipah virus was confirmed on Friday, bringing the total number of infected individuals in the state to six, with two fatalities reported thus far.