Sabarimala: Four women hailing from Andhra Pradesh were on their way to the Samarimala temple to pray to the presiding deity Lord Ayyappa, when angry protesters blocked their path on Sunday and turned them away. At 10 a.m., two women accompanied by a male devotee were the first to face the wrath of the traditionalists. The pilgrims were about to enter the main pathway at the foothills of the temple town to begin their trek to the shrine at the hilltop when protesters surrounded them.
Sensing trouble, police officials formed a security cordon around the two ladies and took them to the police control room at Pamba.
Inspector General of Police S. Sreejith told reporters that the two ladies were part of a pilgrimage group from Andhra Pradesh and are visiting various temples in Kerala.
A woman suffered from panic attack and had to be taken to a hospital after hordes of protesters surrounded and heckled her. Balamma, 47, had trekked almost 4 km without police protection, unnoticed by anyone. Then, in absolute disregard for the Supreme Court ruling, the protesters surrounded her and checked her ID card. When the protesters surged towards her, she became unconscious and had to be taken to the hospital.
A fourth lady, who used the services of a palanquin to make it to the hilltop, was identified by protesters about a kilometre from the temple. As the protesters milled around her, police came to her rescue, taking her to Pamba. Since the temple opened on Wednesday – the first time after the top court’s ruling – no woman has been able to reach the temple gates. So far, eight women have attempted the nearly 19 km trek.
None have gone beyond Nilakkal and Pamba – two main stops on way to the shrine. Two of them, Kavitha, a journalist, and Rahana, an activist, were stopped near the shrine’s main entrance, a few hundred metres from the sanctum sanctorum. The temple, which remains open only five days in a month, will close on Monday. Meanwhile, State BJP President P.S. Sreedharan Pillai on Sunday said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should convene a special session of the Assembly, and recommend to the Centre to promulgate an Ordinance to nullify the SC order.
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