Sabarimala : The Sabarimala temple closed on Monday night with the ‘ban’ on entry of women still in place, after six days of tense standoff between protesters and police that had the entire state on the edge.
The historic Supreme Court verdict allowing women between the age of 10 and 50 to worship at the hill-top shrine remained unimplemented, despite multiple attempts by women to enter the temple. Amid several tense situations, the state government managed to prevent large-scale violence.
On Monday, five women from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh tried to get a ‘darshan’ but had to turn back. They were part of a group on a pilgrimage of various Kerala temples and had “blundered” into Sabarimala, unaware of the situation here.
Four women turned back soon after they began the climb, after some Telegu-speaking male pilgrims warned them of what lay ahead. The fifth woman continued for a while before protesters forced her to go back. Another woman Bindu, hailing from Kozhikode, sought permission from police to visit the temple but even before she reached Pamba, the bus she was travelling in from Erumely was blocked by protesters and she was forced to alight.
A police team rescued her from the mob, and she was taken away in a police jeep after she decided to abandon her plan to climb the Sabarimala shrine, which will now remain shut till November 4.
Since last Wednesday, when the temple opened for the monthly pujas, 13 women between the age of 10 and 50 attempted to climb the hill to get darshan but all of them were forced to turn back by scores of protestors. Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages Sabarimala, is meeting on Tuesday to decide on the final report it plans to submit to SC regarding issues that have cropped up in implementing the verdict, including the law and order aspect.
“Whether it will be just a report or if they would seek a prayer in the SC will be decided after consultations with senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi,” law minister A K Balan said.
Source : TOI
