{
  "id": 15425572,
  "title": "Traffic gridlock on Sabarimala route sparks protest as pilgrims are stranded for hours",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/traffic-gridlock-on-sabarimala-route-sparks-protest-as-pilgrims-are",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T14:14:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/traffic-gridlock-on-sabarimala-route-sparks-protest-as-pilgrims-are-stranded-for-hours/article71599790.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Traffic gridlock on the Sabarimala route led to a protest as pilgrims were trapped for hours, stranded due to insufficient bus transport. Vehicles formed long queues along the Nilackal-Pampa road during heavy pilgrim rush on Sunday. The situation was attributed to ongoing road works and a lack of KSRTC buses to manage the pilgrim influx. Hundreds of devotees, including children and elderly women, were left stranded for hours due to the traffic snarls that stretched from Nilackal to the Sannidhanam. The police and Travancore Devaswom Board officials were under pressure to manage the situation. Many pilgrims were forced to remain in vehicles for hours without access to food or water. Some pilgrims who had completed darshan faced long waits for buses to leave Pampa. The road remains under repair, with congestion extending as far as Attathodu. An accident further disrupted traffic, adding to the delays. An accident along the route further compounded the delays. The shortage of buses hampered the return journey of pilgrims from Pampa, leading to tense exchanges between devotees and police before escalating into a road blockade.",
  "summary": "Officials attribute the chaos to ongoing road works along the Nilackal-Pampa stretch and an inadequate number of KSRTC buses to handle the pilgrim rush",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}