The temple was opened on December 30 for the Makaravillaku festival and there has been a heavy rush of pilgrims.
Sabarimala: Authorities shut down the Sabarimala Temple of Lord Ayyappa Wednesday for “purification rituals” after two women walked into the sanctum sanctorum, according to a report by news agency ANI. The temple was subsequently reopened.
Bindu, a college lecturer and CPI(ML) activist from Kozhikode district’s Koyilandy, and Kanakadurga, a civil supplies employee from Angadipuram in Malappuram, had come to Sabarimala on 24 December after 11 women activists of a Chennai-based outfit were prevented from reaching the shrine and chased away by devotees chanting Ayyappa mantras.
According to TV channels, Kanakadurga, 42, and Bindu, 44, had also made efforts to enter the shrine in December but were forced to return due to protests.
The temple was opened on 30 December for the Makaravillaku festival and there has been a heavy rush of pilgrims.
On Wednesday, the women were believed to have trekked to the hill shrine early in the morning— a video doing the rounds purportedly shows them entering the shrine in black clothes, with their heads covered.
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A. Padmakumar said he had no information about the two women offering prayers at the temple.
TDB officials have been asked to review CCTV footage to verify the women’s claim, he said.
The temple has witnessed protests from frenzied devotees over the entry of women in the 10-50 age group in the sanctum sanctorum after the CPI(M)-led LDF government decided to implement a Supreme Court order removing the 27-years-old ban.
The main opposition, the Congress-led UDF, and the BJP have been opposing the entry of young women.
With inputs from PTI and ANI.