NEW DELHI: Two women from the 'barred' age group had entered the shrine late at night through a VIP gate on Wednesday following which the devotees had been protesting against the 'defiling' of the celibate deity's shrine. Revolutionary Socialist Party leader NK Premchandran gave an adjournment notice to discuss the issue in Lok Sabha. Congress MPs K C Venugopal, M K Raghavan, Kodikkunnil Suresh and Anto Antony has also given a notice for the adjournment motion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clarified that the rituals and customs at Sabarimala will be preserved.

A dawn-to-dusk 12-hour hartal called by Hindu outfits began Thursday morning in protest against the entry of two women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa .

As per initial reports, auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers were plying at the railway station in the state capital and various other places.

But in Kozhikode, protesters blocked vehicles and burnt tyres in the morning.

The hartal, which began at 6 am, has been called by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of various pro-Hindutva groups, spearheading protests against the Supreme Court's September 28 verdict, and Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP).

The BJP is supporting the shutdown while the Congress-led UDF is observing a "black day" on Thursday.