<span style="color: #222222;">Tension prevails at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple complex today morning as a group of 11 women, below the age of 50 years, tried to trek the hilltop shrine, even as devotees protested against the move. With protest intensifying, the women, members of the Chennai-based "Manithi" outfit, were shifted to police control room in Pamba. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Police also arrested a number of protestors as prohibitory order still prevails here. Earlier the group of women staged a sit-in dharna on the road in front of the Ganapathy temple here when they were denied permission to visit the temple. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Though the group attempted to trek through the traditional forest path in the morning which is about five kilometres from the temple complex, they could not go forward as devotees started protest against them. With intensifying, protests Police first issued a warning to the agitating protesters to disperse off from the place.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The protesters said that they will not allow the women to trek to the hilltop. Citing security reasons though the police asked the women to go back they said they will continue the protest till they could visit the temple and offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Priests of the local temple at Pamba did not cooperate and declined to get the group's  'irumudikettu' (the sacred offering to the God) ready as per custom. The group later did it their own.</span><br />''