TIRUCHY: Unmindful of the heat, several thousands of devotees witnessed the car procession of the Samayapuram Mariamman temple, held on Tuesday as part of the annual chithirai festival. Around four lakh devotees attended the car procession, police said.
The event commenced around 10.30 am when thousands of devotees pulled the wooden temple car carrying the idol of the processional deity, Mariamman amid chants of ‘Om Sakthi’. The car was pulled through the arterial streets surrounding the temple. Several of the devotees carried fire pots in their hands as part of fulfilling their vows. Some Good Samaritans set up stalls to distribute buttermilk and food to devotees.
Around 1,590 police personnel were deployed to regulate the crowd. About 50 surveillance cameras and four drone cameras were installed around the temple premises. Three bomb detection and disposal squads were stationed, in addition to fire engines and ambulances.
Keeping in mind the safety of devotees who walked down to the temple, city police distributed 750 reflective stickers mounted on sticks to them. On Tuesday alone, 240 sticks were handed out to devotees.
Fort Traffic Inspector N Navukarasu told TNIE, “We noticed an increase in night-time accidents involving devotees. These reflective sticks help improve their visibility and are a simple but effective step to prevent accidents.” The 13-day festival is scheduled to end on April 18.