Sabarimala Temple row: Shut down in Kerala

They have reportedly called for the strike to protest against the detention of Hindu Aikya Vedi leader KP Sasikala.

K P Sasikala was detained earlier on Saturday morning.

Sasikala, who is believed to be over 50, had come for darshan to the hill top, but was blocked. She was taken into preventive custody at around 2 am for defying prohibitory orders, reported Hindustan Times.

The strike commenced from 6 am.

This was the third time the shrine was reopened since the Supreme Court announced the verdict on the entry of women recently.

Trupti Desai Returns:

Meanwhile, activist Trupti Desai was forced to go back to Pune from Kochi airport after she faced protests for 14 hours since she arrived in the state on Friday morning.

There has been a wave of protests over the Supreme Court verdict on women's entry at the Sabarimala Temple situated in the south Indian state of Kerala, that opened on Friday for two months time.

Desai, who reached Kochi airport to head for Sabarimala temple to break the age old tradition on not allowing women of menstrual age inside, remained stuck at the airport for the whole day with a large number of protesters sitting outside to prevent her from going to the shrine.

She was planning to enter the temple but protesters assembled in front of the airport and prevented her from leaving the venue.

SC verdict and review:

In a major move, the Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to review in open court its own order that had ended Sabarimala Temple's ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.

The court will now hear several petitions that have challenged the order, reports said.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Sept 28 had lifted the ban on women's entry into the Sabarimala temple declaring the relevant rules as unconstitutional.

Following the top court's verdict, the shrine opened on Oct 18 for the first time allowing menstruating women, belonging to the age group of 10 to 50, to enter the temple.

However, several men and women had protested outside the temple, and tried to prevent the entry of women in the shrine. The temple was closed after five-day puja.

Menstruating women were earlier banned from entering the temple for centuries as a part of the religious practice.

Two women- an activist and a journalist- had attempted to enter the Temple.

However, they returned without entering the shrine.

The two women turned back after the priest threatened to shut the temple if they don't go back.

Protests had rocked the state in recent times over the verdict with demonstrators not supporting the order of allowing women aged between 10 and 50 from entering the temple.

The temple again reopened for Sree Chithira Attathirunal pooja recently. No violence was reported that time.