It has been confirmed that over 300,000 people are currently waiting in queues to worship at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy today. The police have requested the public to refrain from visiting the temple tomorrow and the day after, as an unbearable crowd has already assembled.
Issuing a statement, Police Headquarters explained that this request is being made due to the overwhelming number of devotees arriving to visit the temple.
According to the statement, since a sufficient number of devotees have already gathered to perform the pilgrimage, any additional visitors over the next two days may not be able to complete their worship.
This announcement follows a report by a team of experts from the Engineering Faculty of the University of Peradeniya, who confirmed that over 300,000 devotees have lined up in queues for the Dalada exhibition.
The Sri Dalada exhibition at 11:00 a.m. daily and will continue until 5:30 p.m untill April 27th. To manage the crowds, three police stations have been set up to assist the devotees. As of yesterday afternoon, each queue had stretched over five kilometers. One queue extended past Katugastota town, while another had reached Piccha Malwatte Road via Ampitiya town.
Providing essential services to the gathered devotees has become a significant challenge. Volunteers are working tirelessly to meet the needs of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Kandy Hospital Director Dr. Iresha Fernando informed the media that 270 people who had arrived in Kandy for the pilgrimage were hospitalized by the morning of the 23rd due to various illnesses.
She also reported the unfortunate death of an elderly person who had been waiting in one of the queues.
Since the start of the exhibition, over thirty people have been hospitalized daily. Most cases were due to unconsciousness caused by dehydration. Many of the patients, especially the elderly, were suffering from complications related to chronic health conditions.
