As many as 1,000 devotees will be allowed to offer prayers each day at the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa when it opens for the two-month long pilgrim season from November 16, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
The famed Lord Ayyappa temple opened to devotees Saturday morning after remaining closed for over six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a few worshippers wearing masks and carrying COVID-19 negative certificate offering prayers.
After over six months, devotees will be allowed entry into the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala for the first time since the March 24 national lockdown due to COVID-19, when the temple opens for the five-day monthly pujas from Saturday.
Feeling the heat of the financial crisis arising out the coronavirus pandemic, the Sabarimala Temple in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala is planning to tap on massive gold reserve in its vaults. The Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) is planning to approach the Reserve Bank of India for gold loans.
Travancore Devaswom Board President N Vasu said Sabarimala temple will open on June 14 evening for monthly puja. It said that the people who registered their names through virtual queue system can enter Sannidhanam.
The Kerala government on Friday decided not to allow pilgrims to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district for the annual festival beginning on March 29 to check the coronavirus spread.
A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday commenced hearing to deliberate upon issues relating to the scope of freedom of religion and whether a person who does not belong to a particular faith can file a PIL questioning the religious practice of another religion.
The nine-judge bench has been set up after a five-judge bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, by a 3:2 majority verdict, referred the matter to a larger bench while examining the review petition filed against the historic September 28, 2018 judgement which had allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple.
Till December 6, the revenue touched Rs 69.39 crore which was about Rs 27.55 crore more than it was in the corresponding period of the 2018-19 pilgrim season, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) that administers the affairs of the shrine, said.
According to the police there were about close to 50,000 pilgrims in the temple town who reached from various parts of the state besides other south Indian states.
Tight security arrangements have been made in Pathanamthitta district, the location of the shrine, before the Sabarimala Temple opens for the Mandala Pooja festival on Saturday at 5 pm. Devotees will be able to visit the temple from November 17.
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The Supreme Court on Monday reopened after 6 days and it is expected to deliver verdicts on some of the key issues that have been pending since long. The important issues include the Rafale deal case, the Sabarimala temple case and the verdict on bringing the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) under the right to information act. Besides, the court will also take up some crucial matters for hearing, including the one related to sexual harassment allegations against the CJI.
Tikka Ram Meena, who on Monday faced the BJP's ire after he issued a statement to this effect, on Wednesday briefed the media that it had been made clear to all political parties that under no cost should the name of Lord Ayyappa be used in election campaign.
Kanakadurga was allegedly attacked by her mother-in-law on her returning to her home on January 15, following which she was admitted to a hospital.
According to the police, three women of menstruating age have so far offered prayers at the hill temple during the season.
The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed an anticipatory bail plea filed by Malayalam actor Kollam Thulasi in a case against him for allegedly making provocative anti-women remarks during a Sabarimala protest organised by the BJP-led NDA in the state.
After Kerala turned into a war zone over the entry of women of menstruating age in Sabarimala temple, incidents of violence have continued to be reported on Friday with rampaging protestors hurling crude bombs and stones in various places.
At least 266 people have been arrested and 334 people have been taken into preventive detention for the various hartal related violence.
The women were accompanied by small group of police personnel in civil and uniform.
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