Hartal called in Kerala – Arrest of Hindu woman leader: Sabarimala
Earlier this Saturday, thousands of pilgrims offered their prayers to Lord Ayyappa in the temple of Sabarimala. That was the first day of the Malayalam month of ‘Vrischikom’. This happened even after the 12- hour hartal called in Kerala.
This 12-hour hartal was against the preventive detention of a Hindu Aikya Vedi leader. Pilgrims queued up in large numbers since the temple opened up at 3 am. This queue of devotees included children as well as adults.
On Friday evening, the temple had opened for the two-month-long annual pilgrim season as a stand-off continued over the entry of women passing through the menstrual phase into the shrine.
All regular pujas began this morning under the supervision of the new Melshanti (chief priest) Vasudevan Nampoothiri. Amid unprecedented security, Kerala State Transport Cooperation buses were bringing pilgrims from Nilackal to Pamba. No services have been stopped yet. This was reported KSRTC sources. Shops and hotels near the temple complex were kept open as well.
Due to the hartal called in Kerala, normal life was affected in other parts of the state. Buses and auto-rickshaws remained off roads in several areas.
KSRTC Managing Director Tomin J Thachankary said that the corporation was running buses in Sabarimala with police protection to help pilgrims reach the shrine.
In Balrampuram near Thiruvananthapuram, protestors attacked a KSRTC bus and damaged its windows. Passengers had a tough time getting vehicles in the state capital to reach their respective destinations due to the hartal. Many patients and their relatives were unable to reach their regional cancer centre and Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital.
The Aikya Vedi state president K P Sasikala, who was on a pilgrimage to the Ayyappa shrine, was taken into “preventive custody” Marakkootam, close to Sabarimala.
The hartal called in Kerala is a consequence of the new law. Is the hartal justified? What do you think?
