Trupti Desai goes back without visiting Sabarimala

Activist Trupti Desai of Bhumata Brigade, who spearheaded campaign for women to be allowed in several temples, returned to Mumbai without visiting Sabarimala shrine due to vociferous protests against her.

Desai and her entourage, which arrived at the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbaserry on Friday morning, was holed up inside the airport premises for almost the whole of Friday.

After the police refused to make logistical arrangements for her tour and the airport authorities apprised her about the protests that were affecting the smooth functioning of the installation, Desai took the flight back to Mumbai at 9.30 pm. Her entourage had arrived at 5 am.

Vociferous protests by members of right-wing organisations outside the airport began early in the morning and continued till Desai's flight took off from Nedumbaserry. Desai, who put up a brave face in the morning saying she will not return without offering prayers at the temple, relented in the evening.

Sources said while the police assured her security, they refused to arrange logistics for her. None of the cab drivers at the airport was ready to ferry her to Kottayam and then to Pamba, the foothills of Sabarimala.

She landed in Kochi airport on Friday morning to visit the famous Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, amid vociferous protests asking her to go back.

The entourage's plan was to proceed to Kottayam from Kochi and then travel to Sabarimala on Saturday. She had spearheaded the campaign for women to be allowed into various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple.