NILAKKAL: The state government is faced with an uphill task on several fronts — not just the accommodation and basic facilities — in enabling women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala hill shrine.
Apart from the infrastructure, the government will be forced to provide food and water to the women devotees as hotel owners here have conveyed their unwillingness to cater to the women who come here on pilgrimage.
“We have difficulty in providing food and water to the women who are in the age group of 10 to 50 years,” said Mani, a hotel owner in Nilakkal.
“Every temple has its own rituals, something we have all been following for years. It is our duty to protect the rituals. So, we cannot promote attempts by some women to tarnish the image of Sabarimala. We refuse to provide food and water to those women.” Hotel owners also said they will deny toilet facilities available adjacent to the hotels.
“No one asked them to come here. Every religion has its own beliefs which should be preserved. If they are not responsible enough to follow it, we will not help them out. They will be denied entry into hotels,” said another hotel worker. On the other hand, Manilal who runs a hotel at Naranamthodu, 28 km from the Sabarimala hill shrine, said they are open to providing food to female devotees.
“Since our hotel is located more than 25 km away from Sabarimala we cannot impose a blanket ban on the women devotees. But I will try my best to stop their entry to the Sabarimala hill shrine. Women should not even be allowed to enter Pamba. Sabarimala is for devotees, not a place to play politics,” said Manilal and wife Vasanthi.
Even the women police posted at Nilakkal are of the opinion that women should refrain from entering Sabarimala. “It will be very difficult for those who visit the hill shrine in Sabarimala as the government has done nothing to accommodate them. It would be difficult to find a toilet here. Moreover, people are turning violent towards women who try to enter Pampa,” said a female cop.