Aluva goes green and clean as thousands take part in Vavubali

Tens of thousands of devotees on Sunday performed vavubali rituals for their dead ancestors on the banks of the Periyar River at Aluva Manappuram.

A devotee offers vavu bali in the Periyar at Aluva on Sunday | Albin mathew

KOCHI: Tens of thousands of devotees on Sunday performed the vavubali on the banks of the Periyar River at Aluva Manappuram. As part of the rituals, devotees offered a handful of rice kept on a plantain leaf with ‘bali karuka’ and other essentials into the river to appease their ancestors.

Like in the previous year, a ‘green vavubali’ was observed this time with the authorities banning the use of plastic carry bags and water bottles on the premises. The authorities had made elaborate arrangements for accommodating the crowds of devotees.

IN PICTURES: Honouring the dead with the Karkidaka Vavu Bali in Kerala

Apart from the Devaswom’s ‘bali puras’ on the banks of the river, there were around 76 other spots where believers thronged to perform the ritual. The police had set up makeshift barricades at prominent places in order to prevent the devotees from entering the deeper part of river.

The authorities also made facilities to enable as many as 1,000 people to perform the rituals at the same time. About 10 priests and their assistants were employed by the Devaswom to assist the faithful apart from 76 priests who were given permission to perform the rites.

The services of the local police, Fire and Rescue Services Department and rescue divers were made available at the venue. Anticipating the heavy rush on Sunday, the police enforced traffic regulations.
The movement of vehicles was regulated from Thottakkattukara to Manappuram. As many as 1,000 police personnel were pressed into service.

The authorities had also set up two counters to supply dry ginger coffee to devotees. The KSRTC deployed special buses from various depots to the venue from 4 am on Sunday.  

All roads led to Aluva

Authorities had banned the use of plastic carry bags and water bottles on the premises
Apart from the Devaswom’s ‘bali puras’ on the banks of the river, there were 76 other spots where believers thronged to perform the ritual
The authorities had also set up two counters to supply dry ginger coffee to devotees
The services of the local police, Fire and Rescue Services Department and rescue divers were made available at the venue
The police had set up makeshift barricades at prominent places in order to prevent the devotees from entering the deeper part of river
The KSRTC deployed special buses from various depots to the venue from 4 am on Sunday