Oct 18, 2018
In Kerala, the protest against the entry of women of all ages in the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala continues. Section 144 CrPC has been clamped in four places since today morning in Sabarimala including the Sannidhanam, Ilavunkal, Nilakkal and Pampa.

Security has been beefed up, in and around Sabarimala. Police are controlling all the arriving devotee vehicles.

Meanwhile, the dawn to dusk hartal called by various religious organisations against the supreme court decision began today morning. Special security arrangements have been put in place at various locations including Pamba, Nilakkal, Erumeli en route to the Sabarimala temple. However, police said that stray incidents of stone-pelting on state-owned buses were reported from some parts of the state.

The BJP and its NDA partners have extended their support to the hartal call. The Congress said it would not join the strike but will hold protest demonstrations across the state today.

The temple was reopened today morning and despite the clashes, devotees in large numbers are arriving. The Lord Ayyappa temple has opened for the five-day-monthly pooja of the Malayalam month of Thulam, the first time since the apex court allowed entry of women of all age.
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Courtesy