Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (SP)
Kasargod, Jan 11: Reportedly, the two women who had entered Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa shrine and made history by being the first to be the women of menstruating age to enter the shrine, fear for their lives, and therefore are hiding. They face death threat by protesters, it is said.
The Supreme Court, in its verdict delivered during September 2018, had permitted women in the age group of 10 to 50 years, who were hitherto banned from entering the Sabarimala shrine, free entry into the temple. There have often been violent incidents at Sabarimala whenever security personnel tried to help young women to enter the shrine in tune with the Supreme Court judgment.
The two women who now fear for their lives happen to be 40-year-old Bindu Ammini, lecturer at Kannur University, and 39-year-old Kanakadurga, a civil servant. The women agree that many had tried to discourage from visiting the shrine but they were determined to go ahead with their plan. Although they had tried to enter the temple on December 24, they had to go back on account of protests. However, on January 2, they succeeded in their effot.
The women, who are in an undisclosed destination near Kochi, say that they have faith on the authorities that they would not let any harm to come to them, and they would be returning to their homes in a few days from now. `
Dearth of devotees at Sabarimala
Sabarimala, which normally witnesses increased inflow of devotees from all corners of the country, has this time not been teeming with devotees. The businessmen who set up temporary shops along the two sides of the forest route through 'Male Choutu' after the devotees visit Vavar mosque, where food and resting places are available, complain about fall in business. The regular visitors at Sabarimala say that they are surprised at the sharp fall in the number of devotees on the route to Sabarimalal and also those partaking food at the shrine. There are no long queues and police are not facing hardship in controlling the crowd. Some shopkeepers said that the number of devotees this time has dwindled by over 50 percent and that several of them are facing the prospect of closing down their businesses prematurely.