Amid heavy security, the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala opened today evening for the "Makaravilakku" festival. The temple had closed on December-27 to mark the culmination of the 41-day mandala pilgrim season. There was a heavy rush of Ayyappa devotees when the shrine opened at 5-p.m. The Makaravilakku will be held on January 15 and the shrine will be closed on January-21.

The SC said its 2018 verdict allowing entry of girls and women of all ages into the Ayyappa-temple at Kerala's Sabarimala was not the "final-word" as the matter was referred to a-larger-bench. The top-court's observation came when senior-advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for a woman-devotee, Bindu-Ammini, alleged violation of the 2018 verdict and said her client was attacked for her bid to enter the shrine.

A 40-year-old pilgrim from Andhra Pradesh died of a heart-attack on his way to Lord-Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala on Wednesday, police said. Kameshwar Rao, who was part of a 28-member pilgrim group from Andhra Pradesh, felt uneasy while trekking at Neelimala, one of the sacred hills to reach the forest shrine. The report was "fake" and baseless, the board said in a press release.