ERODE/TIRUPPUR: Union Minister of State L Murugan participated in the traditional fire-walk ritual held at the renowned Bannari Mariamman Temple as part of the annual Kundam festival on Tuesday. Over one lakh devotees from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka took part in the festival.
Bannari Mariamman Temple is located on the Coimbatore-Bangalore NH 948 in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode. The Kundam festival is held annually in the temple in the Tamil month of Panguni. This year, the festival started on March 16.
Devotees from various districts like Erode, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Namakkal, and from Karnataka performed the fire walk.
Fire and rescue services personnel and the police were present to regulate the event to prevent accidents. Devotees offered turmeric, salt, and pepper to the deity and performed special pujas on the occasion. Special buses were operated to the temple from various locations.
The traffic was diverted on the Dhimbam hill pass, a main road connecting TN and Karnataka, and on local roads and more than 2,000 policemen were engaged to manage the crowd. In Tiruppur district, the annual Kundam festival, which commenced on March 25, was held at the Kondathu Kaliamman Temple in Perumanallur. More than 50,000 devotees participated in this festival.