Buoyant Pune women group to march to Shani temple today

Pune/Nashik: Gender rights activist Trupti Desai, who has been spearheading the movement for women’s entry into both the Shani Shingnapur and Trimbakeshwar temples, said her group, the Bhumata Brigade, will celebrate their ‘victory’ in Pune on Saturday morning and then head straight to Shani Shingnapur so they can enter the temple. “Trimbakeshwar will be our next destination. We have not yet finalised the date of our visit to Nashik,” she said.

Durga Shukre, leader of Bhumata Women’s Organisation, the group that split from Bhumata Brigade, said she would visit the Shingnapur shrine after getting the court order. Ahmednagar police said they were waiting for a co py of the judgement to decide their stand in the wake of women activists’ plans to visit Shingnapur on Saturday.

Saurabh Tripathi, superintendent of police for Ahmednagar district, said, “We have not received a court order as yet. We will take a call on deploying police force as per the situation.”

However, authorites at Shani Shingnapur temple are in no mood to give in yet. Members of an action committee formed to maintain traditions at the temple said they will challenge the high court verdict even as the temple’s management and villagers said they are wary about allowing women devotees into the ‘prohibitedarea.’

Sambhaji Dahatonde-Patil, member of the action committee, said a petition would be filed in Supreme Court next week.