Sabarimala temple opened today to devotees for the monthly rituals
Two women doctors of the Kerala government attended a review meeting called by Devasom (temple affairs) minister Kadakampally Surendran on the Sabarimala shrine premises, hours before the temple's opening for monthly rituals amid tight security on Wednesday.
Kerala Public Health Department additional director KJ Reena and deputy director Meenakshi, attended the meeting amid protests against a Supreme Court order ending the temple's centuries-old ban on women of menstruating age or between 10 and 50 years.
Despite women being allowed by the court to visit the shrine, traditional devotees have been taking out protest marches and screened vehicles yesterday to stop women from heading to Sabarimala.
As their visit caused a flutter, the women doctors told the local media that they are above 51 years, and they would return from the temple after offering prayers. "Some people have made it out to be that the review meeting took place inside the temple. A meeting on temple premises doesn't mean the meeting took place in the temple. There is a difference between the two," Mr Surendran said. The minister said that the meeting reviewed the preparations such as medical facilities and arrangements for the stay of the security personnel who are deployed in Sabarimala.
This is the first time that such a review meeting is taking place on the temple premises. It used to take place in nearby Pampa - around 4 km away in the base of the hill - which has been hit by the recent floods in the state. "We were told by the guards to make an entry in the register. We did that but it was against the Supreme Court order," Dr Reena told the local media. Both the doctors had trekked to the temple.