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Two women begin climbing Sabarimala hill amid strong protests
At least 100 policemen accompanied two women, a journalist and a devotee, towards the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala on Friday amidst strong protests by devotees opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the Lord Ayyappa temple.
By
migrator
migrator
Thiruvananthapuram
Andhra based Mojo TV journalist Kavitha started her trekking, under a thick security escort led by Inspector-General Sreejith, to Sannidanam, the abode of Lord Ayyappa, here on Friday.
Meanwhile, the second woman has told police that she is going to the temple as a devotee. She is dressed in traditional attire and has performed the required rituals to enter the shrine and see the main idol.
Talking to media here, Kavitha said she is proud to be performing her professional duties as she had the right to go to the Sannidanam in the wake of Supreme Court verdict allowing entry for women of all ages into the temple.
The trek from Pamba to the temple located at a hillock generally takes around two hours. Led by Inspector General of Police S Sreejith, they started their climb around 6.45 a.m. Â
According to the police, the two ladies have another 1.5 km to reach the hallowed sanctum santorum of the Lord Ayyappa shrine.
Along the route, a protesting devotee jumped in front of the police cordon but he was removed.
An angry group of devotees are however, grouped at the entrance of the pathway that leads to the temple.
Meanwhile, the temple Tantri family and members of the Pandalam royal family are considering closing down of the temple in order to stop the women from entering, according to informed sources.
The woman journalist is in her 20s and if she climbed the hills, she would be the first woman from the menstruating age group to visit the Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa.
The temple opened its doors on Wednesday for the first time since the September 28 Supreme Court verdict that allowed women from the 10-50 age group to enter the famed shrine.
On Thursday, a New Delhi-based woman journalist Suhasini Raj working for The New York Times was stopped midway by devotees opposing the entry of women of menstrual age into the hill shrine.
The journalist accompanied by her male colleague, a foreigner, descended the hills from Marakkoottam area in the face of mounting protests.
A case has been registered against devotees who allegedly prevented her trekking and forced her to climb down the hills.
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