Sabarimala Row: Devaswom Board To Meet Stakeholders As Shrine Reopens Tomorrow

Thiruvanathapuram: With the Sabarimala shrine opening tomorrow to women of all age groups for the first time after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling last month, the Travancore Devaswom Board which governs the temple has launched an effort to arrive at a consensus on the issue. Board president A Padma Kumar has convened a meeting of all the stakeholders at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court verdict allowing women’s entry into the Lord Ayappa temple has received mixed reactions with several thousand people, mostly women, taking to the streets to hold protests against the verdict. Several political parties, religious bodies and groups close to the temple board joined the protests launching a ‘Save Sabarimala’ campaign. The protesters along with several members of the BJP held a massive protest march yesterday at the Kerala Secretariat in Tiruvananthapuram.

Apart from stakeholders, the Travancore Devaswom Board is expected to hold a meeting with the Pandalam royal family and Ayyappa devotees too.

On the other hand, addressing a press briefing Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan assured that government will not submit a review petition and that they will ensure facilities to allow all devotees to go to Sabarimala shrine tomorrow.

Devotees bodies, Hindu organisations and various political outfits are opposing the entry of women in the shrine. Activists from more than 30 organisations will converge at Nilackkal (the base camp of Sabarimala hill shrine) and Pampa (the base of the hill from where the devotees trek to the temple) to prevent the entry of the women between the ages of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala shrine.

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