Erumeli: Sabarimala pilgrims on Tuesday blocked the road at Erumeli to protest against authorities' decision not to allow into Pampa. Devotees from various states blocked the Erumeli-Ranni road to register their protest.
There was an altercation between the devotees and the police at Ettumanoor Mahadeva temple, a prominent pilgrimage centre, earlier in the morning after pilgrims were prevented from proceeding to Sabarimala despite waiting for hours.
Hundreds of devotees, who had reached Ettumanoor temple the previous morning were not allowed to leave to Sabarimala citing the crowd of Erumeli and Pampa.
Devotees have been advised to avoid going in large groups. According to this, groups of pilgrims spent the entire Monday at the Ettumanoor temple grounds in the sun. There was an altercation between them and the police when they tried to go to Sabarimala on Tuesday morning.
Yellow alert sounded in Pathanamthitta
The India Meteorological Department sounded a yellow alert in Pathanamthitta on Tuesday due to the possibility of heavy rain lashing the district. The weather office has predicted the district will receive isolated heavy rainfall between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm in the next 24 hours, which is a cause of concern for the thousands of devotees who have been waiting for hours in queues at the hill shrine and for those who are stuck on the way to Sabarimala.
As per reports, there's a long line of vehicles along the Ilavungal-Plappally and Ilavungal-Kanamala roads via Ezhumeli for up to 10 km. Those stuck in their vehicles will find it especially difficult as Plappally is a forested area and without food, they would be as good as stranded. Heavy rain is also expected to cause more traffic snarls in the area.
