550 women have registered for Sabarimala darshan ahead of reopening
The Sabarimala temple is slated to open its doors to devotees next week for the two-month-long 'mandalam-makaravilakku' pilgrimage season. While violent protests rocked the previous two occasions when the temple doors were opened, it appears that at least 550 women aged 10-50 years have signed up for darshan via the online 'virtual queue' system, despite the risks. Here's more.
Already, over 3.5 lakh people have registered online
Over the last few days alone, over 3.5 lakh people have registered via the virtual queue system for visiting the 800-year-old hill shrine. The system, which the Kerala Police put into place a couple of years ago, is similar to the one at the Tirupati temple, and allows devotees to choose the date and time of their darshan. The identities of the 550 women, however, is not known as the system doesn't require IDs.
Police are beefing up security ahead of the festival
The mandalam festival is expected to draw crores of pilgrims, and understandably, police are beefing up security at the hill shrine. Apart from deploying massive manpower, police have made several arrangements, including introducing a special pass system for vehicles carrying pilgrims. Passes can be acquired from police stations, and vehicles without passes will not be allowed parking spots at the Nilakkal base camp.
Review petition to be heard ahead of re-opening
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Supreme Court, with the hearing of the review petitions filed against its September 28 verdict slated for November 13, just a couple of days ahead of the temple's reopening. Although the Kerala government has lent its full support to the September 28 verdict, the BJP and Congress have organized protests, supporting Ayyappa devotees' demands to reinstate the ban on entry of women aged 10-50 years.
