THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala convened here on Wednesday decided to make elaborate arrangements for conducting Navarathri festival to be held from September 21 to October 9.
The idols will arrive here from Tamil Nadu on September 20 and 23. The DGP will lead the idol procession reaching Thiruvananthapuram from Tamil Nadu.
The state police chief will directly monitor the services of the police personnel. Tamil Nadu officers assured at the meeting to provide food and accommodation facilities for police personnel going from Kerala to Tamil Nadu in connection with the festival procession.
Arrangements will be provided for rehearsal, food and accommodation for a 35-member team of Kerala Police planning to stage a programme in Padmanabhapuram palace.
A medical team including ambulance and steps for conducting allopathy/ayurveda and homeopathy medical camps on the premises of Aryasala Devi temple on the festive days will be taken, Health Minister V S Sivakumar informed the meeting.
Power Department shall take steps to ensure functioning of all streetlights along the National Highway from Kaliyakavila to Thiruvananthapuram and sagging electric lines will be straightened. Water tankers will be used to sprinkle water on roads to ease the difficulty of those persons carrying idols and the palanquin barefooted. Roads leading to the temples connected with Navarathri festival will be cleaned and electric lines posing danger would be replaced with underground cable connections. The Public Works Department has been directed to arrange more lights on the routes where the ‘Silver Horse’ is being brought during night. City Corporation will engage more number of workers to clean up roads by which the idols are being brought.
Tamil Nadu Devaswom and Travancore Devaswom Board have been entrusted with the task to erect makeshift sheds at specific spots to perform the traditional poojas during the procession. A T George MLA, Mayor K Chandrika and officials of the Police Department, Fire and Rescue Services, Health and Cultural Affairs attended.