A sudden shortage of canned Aravana payasam at Sabarimala has angered devotees and put the Congress-led UDF government on the defensive. Because stocks ran low during pre-Mandala season visits, the Travancore Devaswom Board restricted counter sales to one tin per pilgrim. Many devotees view the packaged offering as essential to completing the pilgrimage and sharing with family, causing the rationing to spread to social media and local television.
The Board blamed renovation and upgrade work at the Sannidhanam production plant for cutting output while footfall rose, though officials also noted that pilgrim numbers jumped more sharply than expected and drained buffer stocks. Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan faulted the Board for scheduling plant work while the shrine was open, stating that maintenance traditionally happens when pilgrim traffic is shut. While Muraleedharan said the Board president promised the crunch would not be repeated, the Left opposition accused the government of failing to stock enough Aravana before production was scaled down.
Temple administrators now face pressure to restore production capacity before the peak Mandala-Makaravilakku rush. For the UDF, the episode serves as an early governance stress test, with the promised fix to be judged by tin availability at the counters in the coming weeks.