SABARIMALA: On Wednesday, amidst chaos, two women set out to become the first in the 10-55 age group to set foot on the Sannidhanam of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa , but fell short at different locations.The first one and the one who came so close to the Sannidhanam was Madhavi, 45, from Kakkinada in Andhra Pradesh. Accompanied by her family members, including aged parents and small children, she managed to reach till the Nadapanthal at Pamba, unnoticed by the devotees on vigilante duty. But, at Nadapanthal, the devotees spotted her and stopped her. Pathanamthitta Crime Detachment DSP Sudhakaran Pillai came to her rescue and allowed her to proceed. She even started ascending the uphill route to the shrine, but turned back after covering about a 100 meters as she was intimidated by the chaos.The TOI team caught up with her while she was walking back to her vehicle. The entire family was visibly upset and refused to comment. She said it was her first visit to Sabarimala.The police could not take proper details about her as there was a clear barrier of language as the family spoke nothing but Telugu.The second woman, who set out to Sabarimala, was C S Liby, who works as an editor of an online news portal and had announced through her social media page on Tuesday that she would be taking the pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple. True to her announcement, Liby set out from her residence at Cherthala on Wednesday early morning. She even managed to reach till Pathanamthitta town. But there, she faced a setback as devotees spotted her and blocked her at KSRTC bus station. The police had to intervene to save her and she was taken to Pathanamthitta police station.She wanted to continue the pilgrimage. The police was ready to offer her protection too. But, the two parties failed to reach a consensus even after several hours passed. Liby gave her written statement that she was ready to complete the pilgrimage provided she had the protection of the police."We are more than happy to provide her protection. It's evident from the way we allowed Madhavi to cross the Nadapanthal and proceed towards the hill shrine. The problem in Liby's case is that we cannot escort her from all the way to Pathanamthitta. If she manages to reach Nilackal, where additional force are deployed, we can guarantee safe passage to the Sannidhanam," a senior police officer said.Meetings are still on to decide on the what strategy to adopt. Meanwhile, Liby was shifted to the Women's Helpline office of the district police at Pathanamthitta.

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