Sabarimala still remains inaccessible to women
The daylong shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sabarimala Protection Council to protest the baton charge by police and violence at the base camps of the Sabarimala temple crippled normal life in Kerala on Thursday as the hilltop shrine continued to remain inaccessible to women.
The situation remained tense in Pambha and Nilakkal, the base camps where devotees gather before trekking to the 800year-old temple in Pathanamthitta district, as the shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa opened for the second day for the fiveday pilgrimage. Pambha and Nilakkal had witnessed widespread violence on Wednesday.
The temple opened on Wednesday at 5pm for the first time after the September 28 Supreme Court ruling allowing entry of women aged between 10 and 50. As part of the convention, the temple opens for five days on
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
the first of every Malayalam month and will remain open till October 22.
Many areas on the way to the temple also remained tense. Police resorted to action after angry protesters attacked media personnel especially women journalists. At least three women journalists were attacked on Wednesday and their vehicles stoned by a mob.
The worried district administration later clamped restrictions prohibiting the gathering of more than four people under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in four areas, including the two base camps, in the district to avoid re-grouping of protestors.
“We were keeping utmost restraint. Police were forced to intervene when some protestors started attacking media men,”