12-year-old girl stopped from going to Sabarimala temple
Kerala police stop her at Pampa after examining her Aadhaar card
20/11/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA, ,SABARIMALA
Kerala police stop her at Pampa after examining her Aadhaar card
20/11/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA, ,SABARIMALA
Police personnel examining the Aadhaar card of a 12-year-old girl, who had come to offer prayers at Sabarimala.PTI
A 12-year-old girl from Puducherry, who had come with her father for darshan at the Lord Ayyappa temple here, was not allowed to proceed from Pampa on Tuesday morning.
The age of the girl had been shown as 10 in the ‘Virtual Q’ booking. Women police examined her Aadhaar card and found that she was 12 years old and refused to allow her to proceed further, the police said.
After those accompanying the child were informed about the current situation in Sabarimala, her father and other relatives proceeded to the temple.
‘Ready to wait’
A nine-year-old girl from Kerala, who came to the temple complex from Karnataka on Monday, had a placard around her neck that said “Ready to wait. Will visit the shrine after attaining 50 years.” Hailing from Thrissur, Hridyakrishnan said she had visited the shrine thrice thus far and would have darshan of Lord Ayyappa again only after she was 50.
The Pampa base camp is at the foothills of Sabarimala, about 5 km from the shrine. The Lord Ayyappa temple opened on November 16 evening for the two-month long Mandala-Makaravillakku pilgrimage season.
The State and temple precincts had witnessed protests by right wing outfits and BJP workers last year after the LDF government decided to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the shrine. However, the government is exercising caution this year, even though the top court has not stayed its verdict while posting various petitions on the matter to a larger bench.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has made it clear that Sabarimala was not a place for activists, and said the government would not encourage women who wanted to visit the shrine for publicity.
A 12-year-old girl from Puducherry, who had come with her father for darshan at the Lord Ayyappa temple here, was not allowed to proceed from Pampa on Tuesday morning.
The age of the girl had been shown as 10 in the ‘Virtual Q’ booking. Women police examined her Aadhaar card and found that she was 12 years old and refused to allow her to proceed further, the police said.
After those accompanying the child were informed about the current situation in Sabarimala, her father and other relatives proceeded to the temple.
‘Ready to wait’
A nine-year-old girl from Kerala, who came to the temple complex from Karnataka on Monday, had a placard around her neck that said “Ready to wait. Will visit the shrine after attaining 50 years.” Hailing from Thrissur, Hridyakrishnan said she had visited the shrine thrice thus far and would have darshan of Lord Ayyappa again only after she was 50.
The Pampa base camp is at the foothills of Sabarimala, about 5 km from the shrine. The Lord Ayyappa temple opened on November 16 evening for the two-month long Mandala-Makaravillakku pilgrimage season.
The State and temple precincts had witnessed protests by right wing outfits and BJP workers last year after the LDF government decided to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the shrine. However, the government is exercising caution this year, even though the top court has not stayed its verdict while posting various petitions on the matter to a larger bench.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has made it clear that Sabarimala was not a place for activists, and said the government would not encourage women who wanted to visit the shrine for publicity.
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