Sabarimala row: March in Raipur in support of tradition

Hundreds of people, including Keralite women, took out a march in Raipur Sunday and vowed that females in the banned age group from their families would not enter the famous Sabarimala shrine in Kerala.

The Supreme Court had recently ordered lifting the age restriction on entry of women to the hill abode of Lord Ayyappa.

"The march in taken out in Tatibandh area here was a message that women of banned age group should stay away from the shrine," said Vinod Pillai, president of Shree Ayyappa Sewa Sangham, in Chhattisgarh.

Besides Keralites, members from Andhra Association and Tamil Association also participated in the procession, which culminated into a public meeting in rhw Ayyappa temple premises in Tatibandh, he said.

"The women members took the suo motu decision that they would not allow women of particular age group in their families to visit the shrine," said Pillai.

He said the restriction on the entry of women in the menstrual age is part of centuries-old traditions that should not be violated.