On first Saturday, Shani Shingnapur temple sees a majority of women

Most of the devotees who turned up to pray at the Shani Shingnapur temple on Saturday were women

Ahmednagar: Most of the devotees who turned up to pray at the Shani Shingnapur temple on Saturday were women.

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Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai offers prayer at the Shani Shingnapur temple on Friday. File pic

Saturday is the day traditionally devoted to the deity and many devotees rushed to perform abhishek at the shrine. Anita Shete, chairman of the temple trust, said they removed all steel barricades and placed temporary iron steps to allow better crowd movement. Shete, however, did not enter the inner sanctum.

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Antika Shah, 35, from Surat who visited the shrine on Saturday, said, "We have been visiting the temple for the last 20 years and it was always male members who'd get a darshan. This is the first time I got one too."

Local residents are, however, not happy. Sambhaji Dahatonde, president of the Shani Shingnapur Devasthan Bachao Kruti Samiti, said, "We will consult our legal team and decide our next move soon."

The Shani Shingnapur temple trust had on Friday lifted a 400-year-old ban that prevented women from entering the inner sanctum.

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