The court in September overturned a prohibition on women between the ages of 10 and 50, from entering a temple.
The landmark ruling will take effect from today and for the first time allow all female pilgrims to enter the temple, considered one of the holiest for Hindus and visited by millions of devotees each year.
But tensions have escalated in Kerala ahead of the day, with thousands marching against the court’s decision and warning of bigger disruptions if the temple’s traditions were not protected.
Mobs stopped cars from approaching the temple yesterday to demand young women turn back.
Hundreds of additional police had been put on high alert across the state to protect devotees, authorities said.
“Things are under control, and we are closely monitoring the situation,” Kerala police spokesman Pramod Kumar said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said all those who go to pray at the Sabarimala temple will be protected.
Vijayan said this after presiding over a cabinet meeting when journalists pointed out that those fighting to preserve the traditions of the temple were screening all vehicles to see if they had women in the age group of 10-50.
Two women journalists were prevented from proceeding to the temple town where their van was stationed.
The protesters are camping at Nilakal, about 20km from the foothills of the temple, located at Pampa.
“Yes, I have also been told that some people have started screening vehicles. Such a thing cannot be accepted. No one can take law into their hands. The government will ensure that nothing of that sort happens. Those who want to pray cannot be stopped,” said Vijayan.
He pointed out that the government had made it very clear that it will not file a review petition against the court’s verdict.
“We have already made this very clear that we will abide by whatever the apex court verdict is. Now that the verdict has come, we will implement it,” the chief minister said.
The temple today opens at 5pm.
“We are determined that come what may we will not allow a single lady in the age group 10 to 50 to reach anywhere near the temple. It’s a matter of life and death and under no circumstances will we allow a breach of tradition,” said a middle aged woman at Nilakal.
The protesters are said to be mainly locals and others who have arrived from nearby areas.
Meanwhile, the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), the custodian of the temple, yesterday met the Pandalam royal family, representatives of the Sabarimala Tantri family and other Hindu organisations to see how best the controversy can be resolved.
Women are permitted to enter most Hindu temples but female devotees are still barred from entry by some, despite intensifying campaigns by rights activists against the bans.
“It is our constitutional right, and we will stand up for it,” said Trupti Desai, an activist who planned to visit the temple despite receiving death threats.
“People are trying to bully me but I am not scared.”
Two years ago, activists successfully campaigned to end a ban on women entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra state.
Women were also permitted to enter Mumbai’s Haji Ali Dargah after the Supreme Court scrapped a ban in 2016.
Devotees opposed to the last month’s court ruling have argued that it affects the core belief of the decentralised Hindu temple system, where deities have certain rights.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have supported marches in different parts of Kerala over the last few days.
The BJP has historically been on the margins of state politics in Kerala, but vowed “a massive agitation plan” in the state if the ban on women entering temple was not reimposed.
