With hardly 24 hours left for the beginning of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage season on Friday, the holy hillock of Sabarimala as well its base camps ate Pampa and Nilackal have been brought under strict vigil by the Kerala Police.
This comes in the wake of the ongoing protests by various Hindu organisations against the Supreme Court verdict permitting entry for women of all ages to the Ayyappa temple.
The Kerala Police have deployed a 4,500-strong police force at Sabarimala, Pampa and Nilackal as part of the tight security arrangements to ensure the safety of pilgrims. A posse of 1600-strong police force headed by Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakre has already been deployed at Sabarimala alone. As many as 900 women police personnel too would be deployed at Pampa, Nilackal and Sabarimala, police sources said.
A company each of the National Disaster Response Force and the Rapid Action Force attached to the Central Reserve Police Force will be deployed at Sabarimala from Friday.
Temple opens at 5 pm
The Ayyappa temple will be opened at 5 pm on Friday and the 41-day Mandalam-Makaravilkku pilgrimage to the abode of Lord Ayyappa will begin on Saturday, the first day of the Malayalam month of Vrischikom.
As many as 800 women in the restricted age group of 10 to 50 years have already registered their names on the police website for holy darshan at Sabarimala during the ensuing pilgrim season, sources said.
No special protection
The government has made it clear that it would not provide any special protection, other than the existing tight security arrangements being made at the pilgrim centre, for Bhoomata Brigade leader Tripthi Desai who had sought special protection for herself and a six-member team of young women who would be reaching Kerala enroute Sabarimala on Friday.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera says the Police have made every possible arrangements to ensure the safety of all pilgrims, including women, visiting Sabarimala during the ensuing pilgrim season.