30 women to attempt Sabarimala entry on Dec 23

"Till now several women have attempted to reach the Sabarimala temple, but have been unsuccessful. They were doing things alone, but we plan to move together as a group. We have written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asking for police protection. We have also received a response from his office informing us that our request has been forwarded to police," Chennai-based Selvy, who heads Manithi, a women's rights forum, told NDTV.

Ammanni from Wayanad told NDTV: "For now, we are not making any names public. But we cannot reach Sabarimala without the support of the police. We hope that police will make all arrangements for women who are coming from across India."

On September 28, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on women's entry into the Sabarimala temple declaring the relevant rules as unconstitutional.

Following the top court's verdict, the shrine opened on October 18 for the first time allowing menstruating women, belonging to the age group of 10 to 50, to enter the temple.

However, several men and women had protested outside the temple, and tried to prevent the entry of women in the shrine.

Reports said the state's Left government says it intends to implement the apex court's order but the Congress and BJP were creating problems.

For centuries, menstruating women had been banned from entering the temple.