Protesters force a 40-year-old woman, Madhavi and her family from Andhra Pradesh, to abandon their visit to the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. Madhavi, accompanied by her parents and children, set off for the pilgrimage on the Swami Ayyapan road, but 10 minutes into their trek they had to abandon their plan due to protests and intimidation. They alleged the police did not offer protection and escort them to the shrine.


The Sabarimala Temple opened to the public for the first time since the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter and offer prayers to the deity Lord Ayyappa.


Social activist Rahul Easwar on Wednesday said that the believers of the old age tradition will stage a peaceful protest to stop women from entering the temple premises.


Police have been deployed in large numbers in Nilackal, some 20 km away from the Sabarimala hilltop. A protesting group of devotees had been staging a sit-in chanting the Ayyappa mantra in the shelter in protest against the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter the shrine.


The protesting people, who were less in numbers, ran from the spot when the police initiated action in the early hours Wednesday when they tried to block the buses from the key entry point to the temple.