Eight Protesters Held In Late Night Crackdown At Nilackal

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The police cracked down on protesters at Nilackal, the entry point to the Sabarimala hill temple, arresting eight persons from the Namajapa pandal of the Sabarimala Aachara Samrakshana Sami-ti late on Tuesday.

By late evening, the police had also taken control of the main road to Pampa, with Devaswom Minister Kada-kampally Surendran driving through under tight security for Wednesday's official review meeting ahead of the annual Mandalam-Makaravi-lakku pilgrim season, beginning on November 18.

The temple is scheduled to open for its monthly rituals on Wednesday evening.

Additional Director-General of Police Anil Kant and district police chief T. Narayanan are camping at Nilackal. The police have declared Sabarimala a security zone under Section 53 of the Pol-
ice Act.

The police action came at the end of a tense day at Nilackal as women protesters — many from the local tribal community —stopped and screened all Pampa-bound vehicles amid growing protests against the Supreme Court's verdict permitting entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50.