With the gates of the Sabarimala Temple set to open again on November 5, the Pathanamthitta District Collector has announced that Section 144 will be at force at the Sannidhanam and in the areas of Nilakkal and Pamba. The curfew will come into force from the night of November 3 till the night of November 6.
To avoid any sort of failure in the law and order situation in the temple and in its premises, the Kerala Police had earlier said that they will be drastically increasing the manpower deployment in the areas of Sabarimala, Pamba and Nilakkal.
It has also been reported that 20 Deputy Superintendents of Police’s, 42 circle inspectors, 78 sub-inspectors, 1,876 civil police officers and 105 women civil police officers will be deployed by the police in Sabarimala and its premises. Along with this, a commando team will also be deployed in case of an emergency situation.
On the day when the Sabarimala temple opened for the first time on October 17th after the controversial SC verdict, there were violent attacks on women journalists approaching the hill by right wing affiliated groups at Nilackal, which is 20 kilometres from Pamba.
Following this, a curfew was imposed at midnight on October 18 from 12 AM till October 20 in four areas: Pamba, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam and Elavunkal. Due to continued unrest in the area, the curfew was extended to 22nd, when the temple closed for the month.
During the five day pooja in October, a dozen women had attempted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple but they were along the way and sent back by protesting devotees despite heavy police protection.