TIRUVANNAMALAI: Marking the final day of the 10-day Karthigai Deepam festival (began on November 17) at Sri Arunachaleswarar temple, a sea of devotees gathered at the temple town of Tiruvannamalai on Sunday.
While the Bharani Deepam was lit inside the temple at 4 am, the Maha Deepam was lit atop Annamalaiyar Hills at 6 pm. Temple priests sang hymns and eulogised the presiding deities Annamalaiyar and Unnamalai Amman, as the Maha Deepam was lit.
Notably, only 2,400 devotees were permitted to climb the hill to witness the Maha Deepam this year, said officials. Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister PK Sekar Babu, Tiruvannamalai collector B Murugesh, SP Karthikeyan, and temple authorities were present on the occasion.
A total of 14,000 police personnel were deployed at the event, with senior police officials supervising security arrangements. As many as 50 CCTV cameras were placed across 19 locations and 10 drones were flown to monitor the crowd. Additionally, 10 LED screens were set up to display slides related to theft prevention in crowds and other public interest directives. Numerous medical camps were also arranged at the location for emergencies.