Over 500 menstrual-age women book e-tickets for darshan at Sabarimala: Police
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 10: Over 500 women belonging to the traditionally barred age group have registered for 'darshan' at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, when it opens for the Mandala-Makkaravillakku pilgrim season starting from November 17.
The bookings have been made through police online portal which got underway from October 30, police said.
"We randomly checked up and found that 539 women in the 10-50 age group have booked till yesterday...," a senior IPS officer told PTI here Saturday.
The figure assumes significance as the Sabarimala temple had witnessed frenzied devotees opposing the entry of women belonging to the menstrual-age in the wake of landmark Supreme Court verdict permitting women of all ages to offer prayers at the hill shrine.
The women had registered after logging into www.sabarimalaq.com.
"It is a fact that some names of women have been noticed (in the website). We do not know if they are real or booked by the same person... As of now there is no system to validate," he said.
Since booking on the police site is free, there is no payment gateway. Such payments using credit cards would help in validating the identity of the person making the e-bookings, he added.
The official said that though a request had been made to the government to permit charging of Rs 10 as registration fee while making the bookings, this proposal has not received the government nod so far.
As per the government site, digital Q ticket is invalid without a KSRTC bus ticket to take the pilgrims from Nilackal to Pamba, the base camps. Private vehicles are being allowed only till Nilackal. However, in the case of 539 bookings, KSRTC bus tickets have not been booked, the official said.
"If some people decide to go by foot, we cannot insist that they should travel by bus. Although we advise them to take KSRTC bus pass," he said.
Meanwhile, state-based Ayyappa Dharma Raksha Samithi, a pro-Hindu outfit, has decided to launch a prayer campaign to "protect" the rights of Lord Ayyappa by lighting lamps at five crore houses across seven states during the 41-day annual pilgrim season.
On November 6, around 200 devotees had tried to prevent a woman pilgrim from entering the hill shrine, suspecting her to be of menstrual age, and allegedly attacked a cameraman of a Malayalam news channel.
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Over 350 illegal religious structures removed along Nepal border
Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.
Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.
The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.
The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.
On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.
One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.
In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.
After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.
In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.
In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.
The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.
In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.
Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.
The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.
According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.
On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.
Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.
