Intensifying security, Kerala’s Sabarimala Ayyapa temple opens gate for its pilgrimage season

Thiruvananthapuram, November 16: Amid high security, the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple will open its gates for the two-month-long Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season on Saturday at 5 p.m. The security endured on the pilgrimage is in the view after the Supreme Court referred the matter of entry of women to a Larger 7-judge bench. This is to examine the issues of women’s entry into any house of worship including Muslim women’s entry to mosques while reviewing the previous order of allowing women into Sabarimala shrine.

 

In 2018, when the Supreme Court had ordered that women of all age groups should be allowed entry, massive protests broke out across the State by devotees, some of which resulted in violence. To avert a repeat of the situation, the Kerala Government has deployed heavy security forces. Thousands of devotees, who have started gathering en route to the shrine, have been stopped at Nilackal and will be allowed to proceed only after 2 PM. Just around the shrine and in bases like Pamba and Nilackal, a total of 10,017 police personnel will be deployed to ensure the volatile situation does not get out of hand.

DG and IGP of Kerala, Loknath Behara, who is overseeing the security arrangements said deployed 24 Superintendents and Assistant SPs of Police, 112 DSPs, 264 inspectors, 1,185 Sub-Inspectors and 8,402 police officers in sensitive areas like the Sannidhanam, Pamba, Nilackal, and Pathanamthitta. The State Government has toned down its stance from last year and is proceeding with caution.

Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said that the Sabarimala shrine is ‘not a place for activism the government would not encourage women seeking publicity’. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too seems to have watered down his previously vehement stand of women’s entry and has said, ‘As far as we understand the 2018 verdict has not stayed. However, we have to study the verdict. Wait till we study it. We still need clarity on what we have to do’.