The Sabarimala foothills in Pampa on Sunday witnessed high drama as hundreds of devotees blocked paths and chased away a group of 11 women escorted to the hill shrine by the police.

Though the police team tried to arrest and remove a few of the devotees who blocked the traditional forest path and take the women members of Chennai-based outfit 'Maniti', hundreds of pilgrims rushed down to the valley to chase them away.

With the annual ‘Mandala Puja’ just days away, the Lord Ayyappa Temple has been witnessing a heavy rush as over one lakh pilgrims visited the hill top temple on Friday.

A steady inflow of pilgrims was seen at Sabarimala in recent days as the police had eased certain restrictions even as the prohibitory orders are still in place.

Our correspondent Radhakrishnan Kuttoor reports from Sabarimala.

3:45 pm

Kerala-based women activist to trek Sabarimala

A Kerala-based Dalit activist, Ammini also announced her decision to trek Sabarimala on Sunday.

She said in Kottayam that if the protesters blocked her, she would stage an indefinite hunger strike at Pamba, on the foothills of Sabarimala. — PTI

3:30 pm

11 women only first batch: Maniti coordinator

'Maniti' coordinator Selvi said in Pamba that more members of the outfit were on their way to Sabarimala and the 11 women was only the first batch.

Selvi said women also have the right to pray at the temple and that they would not return without darshan.

"Police is asking us to go back in view of protests. But, we won't go back without darshan. We will wait here till we are allowed to trek climb the hills,” she told reporters in Pampa.

Of the 11 women, six carried the traditional irumudikettu which is mandatory to climb the 'pathinettam padi' (holy steps leading to sanctum sanctorum).

Thilakavathi, another member in the group, said they would continue the protest till they could offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa.

"Priests of the local temple at Pamba did not cooperate with us and declined to get our 'irumudikettu' [sacred offering to the God] ready as per custom. So we did it on our own," she said. — PTI

2:30 pm

Arrival of women well-planned: BJP leader K. Surendran

As the Pandalam royal family, attached to the Ayyappa temple, and the Opposition BJP accused the government of taking the "activist women" with police protection, Devaswom Minister, Kadakampally Surendran said they would act according to directives of the High Court-appointed monitoring panel.

"We hope that that the High Court-appointed three-member panel will look into the matter and take a suitable decision in this regard. The government will act according to that,” said Mr. Kadakampally Surendran.

However, BJP leader K. Surendran alleged that the arrival of women was “well-planned’ and the CPI-M led LDF government was behind the move.

The BJP and other right-wing activists staged “namajapa” protests across the State, including before the Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in Thiruvananrhapuram. — PTI

12:10 pm

Police remove protesters from Chelikkuzhi

Earlier, contrary to their initial position, the police had used force to arrest and remove a section of protesters, paving way for the women to proceed to the Sabarimala trekking path by 11.15 am. This came after the 'Maniti' leader Selvi insisted that the police should give it in writing that they were unable to provide them protection.

A protester lie on the path leading to the entry point of the Sabarimala trekking path as other protesters, including women and children, staged the 'Namajapa' protest in an attempt to check entry of the 'Maniti' activists to Sabarimala | Photo Credit: Leju Kamal

The situation took a violent turn when a mob of protesters advanced towards the women from the Neelimala path when they tried to move ahead.

11:50 pm

Women forced to retreat

The 'Maniti' women were forced to retreat from Pampa as the police failed to ensure protection following mounting protests from the Ayyappa' devotees.

The batch of five women were sent to Nilackal in a KSRTC bus and the remaining group members too are likely to follow suit. The women had literally taken to their heels and crossed the river Pampa to the safety of the police control room there as they faced vehement protests from the irate mob.

11:30 am

Protests mount in Pampa against Sabarimala-bound women pilgrims

The protest against the women activists attached to Maniti is gaining steam as more pilgrims joined the protesters. Though the police tried to convince Selvi, the Maniti leader, on the crisis situation prevailing at Pampa, the latter stuck to her stand that the group be permitted to undertake the pilgrimage.

11:00 am

11-member Maniti team reach Pampa

A group of 11 Sabarimala-bound Maniti activists led by the progressive women's organisation leader, Selvi, reached Pampa, in the foothills of Sabarimala, in the early hours of Sunday.

They reached Pampa from Tamil Nadu, crossing the border areas of Kambom-Kumily, in tight police protection. The police protection team routed the van carrying the Maniti group through byroads, avoiding protests from Sabarimala Karma Samiti workers enroute.

(With inputs from PTI)