Tension prevailed morning in Kerala's Nilakkal, the main gateway to Sabarimala, after the police used force to disperse devotees opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the hill shrine.

Acting tough, the police, deployed in large numbers in Nilakkal, some 20 kms away from the Sabarimala hilltop, also removed a makeshift shelter erected by a protesting group Sabarimala Achara Samrakshana Samiti. The protesting group of devotees had been staging a sit-in chanting Ayyappa mantra in the shelter in protest against the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter the shrine.

The protesting people, who were less in numbers, ran from the spot when the police initiated action in the early hours on Wednesday when they tried to block the buses from the key entry point to the temple. Hours ahead of opening of the hill shrine for the monthly prayer, the police said they would not let anyone to block the movement of the people.

Taking the full control of Nilakkal, Police also warned against those who create hurdles in the ways of pilgrims to the hill shrine. The police took strong action against the protesters after some of them checked the vehicles heading to Pamba and prevented the women in the age group of 10 and 50 from entering the hill shrine..