Mandalam puja performed at Sabarimala
The Hindu
The Ayyappa temple will remain closed till 5 p.m. on December 30
Marking the culmination of the 41-day annual Mandalam pilgrim season in Sabarimala, Mandala Puja was performed at the Ayyappa temple here on Sunday.
The rituals during the day were led by the chief priest (Tantri), Kandararu Mahesh Mohanararu, and the head priest (Melsanthi) N. Parameswaran Namboothiri. The Mandala Pooja was performed between 11.50 a.m. to 12.40 p.m. Prior to the Mandala pooja, the presiding deity was adorned with the Thanka Anki, a golden attire that had been brought to the temple in a ceremonial procession.
Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan, TDB president K. Ananthagopan, and Kottayam District Collector S. Jayasree were present on the occasion.

In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












