Kerala remains tense on 2nd day of Sabarimala season

Tension prevailed on Thursday a day after the opening of the short fiveday pilgrimage season as the state observed a shutdown against the alleged police attack on protesters even as a senior member of the Sabarimala priests family urged women of the hitherto barred age group to respect tradition and not visit the Lord Ayyappa templeWhile on Wednesday a couple of women devotees were prevented from undertaking the trek to the hill temple and some women journalists were stopped from proceeding with their coverage amidst violence by activists of Hindu groups affiliated to the BJP and RSS no women devotee of the ages that have been allowed darshan by the Supreme Court turned up on the dayOn Thursday morning Suhasini Raj who works as the India reporter for The New York Times along with her colleague a foreign national managed to go past the Pamba gateway but was stopped midway by angry devotees who erected a human wall before herI had reached half way and then the protests grew stronger I was hit by a stone and then we decided to return The police had provided us all the security said Raj who had earlier pointed out that she came to do her job to speak to devoteesPathanamthitta District Collector PB Nooh told the media on Thursday afternoon that Section 144 was in force and would be there till Friday midnight Police would provide security to any woman who wished to go and pray he saidOf the 30 protesters who was arrested on Wednesday 20 were produced before the Magistrate Court in Ranni near here They were remanded to two weeks judicial custody The arrested activists included a member of the Tantri family Rahul EashwarA dawntodusk shutdown backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party was called against Wednesdays police attack on protesters who were opposing the entry of women within the age group of 1050 years to the Lord Ayyappa shrineAt a few places in Kozhikode Malappuram and here protesters stoned buses of the Kerala State Road Transport Corp following which their operation was suspended On the occasion of Mahanavami all state and central government offices banks and educational institutions were closedShops and markets also remained shut There were poor attendance at the IT park here and in Kochi Railway commuters faced the brunt of the shutdown as they failed to get taxis and public vehicles from the stationsSpeaking to the media at the temple premise Chief Priest Kantararu Rajeevaru said We have the highest regards for women And those who otherwise come to pray at the temple are treated with utmost respectWe always respect the law of the land but in the wake of the apex courts ruling we humbly request women that they should not try to break the tradition of this hallowed templeHe said it was most unfortunate that there had been a wrong campaign that if any woman in the hitherto banned age group entered the temple he would close the templeI have never ever said such a thing We all wish and want that the Sabarimala temple is not turned into a conflict zone as there are lakhs and lakhs of devotees of this temple all over the worldThe temple opened on Wednesday at 5 pm for the first time after the September 28 Supreme Court ruling allowing entry of women aged between 10 and 50As part of the convention the temple opens for five days on the first of every Malayalam month It will now be open till October 22Strong protests were witnessed on Wednesday as political and religious groups turned out in large numbers Some protesters opposed to the entry of women in the 1050 age group clashed with police and heckled women journalistsSome demonstrators and police engaged in stone throwing leading to a lathi charge on the protestersOn account of the violence the Pathanamthitta district collector has clamped Section 144 in around 30 sq km around the templeState BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai on Thursday said all this happened because of the Left governmentWe condemn the violence that took place there and we will bring this to the attention of the Centre This is outrageousWe have decided to intensify our protest From today till October 22 every day at 1130 am 41 Yuva Morcha activists will break Section 144 and will get arrested he saidVijayan now in the UAE wrote in his Facebook post that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were trying to turn the hallowed temple into a conflict zoneThe devotees of the temple should realise this ploy but the state government is determined to thwart all such attempts and would deal with the situation in the appropriate manner said VijayanMeanwhile the Kerala Police on Thursday warned of tough action against all those who spread canards on the social media about Sabarimala in the present situationCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its 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