THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Preparations are in full swing for the smooth conduct of much-anticipated Attukal Pongala festival – which holds the world record for the largest gathering of women for a religious activity – in the state capital. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will hold a final review meeting on the eve of the 10-day long Attukal Pongala festival, which will kick off in the state capital on Wednesday. The annual pongala offering will be held on March 13.
With only a day left for the 10-day long festival to kick off, final review meetings are under way. On Monday, a team of officials from Devaswom Board, district administration and other departments visited the temple to review the arrangements ahead of the meeting by the chief minister.
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust president V Sobha told TNIE that all arrangements are in place for the smooth conduct of the pongala festival. According to her, the main challenge is the rain and rise in temperatures. “The rain on Sunday ruined the temple ground, which had been prepped up for hosting the festival.
Sweltering heat is another challenge and we are doing our best to ensure smooth visits to the temple. Water will be served by our volunteers for the devotees waiting in the queue to see the deity,” said V Sobha. She said that last year, around 40 lakh devotees attended the pongala and this year, more devotees are expected to attend the festival.
In the wake of the rise in temperatures, the district administration is planning to mobilise more volunteers to assist the devotees attending the pongala festival. Sub-collector O V Alfred said that directions have been given to the police to curb noise pollution during the festival.
“We have given direction to operate loudspeakers strictly during the allowed hours only and police will be monitoring it,” he said. For better parking management, the police have introduced a QR code system to guide the devotees to available parking slots in the vicinity of the temple.
“This is the first time such a system is being introduced,” said Alfred. He said that enforcing green protocol during the pongala day is impractical and hence door-to-door campaigns have been launched to discourage the public from using plastic and other disposables during the pongala.
She said that following green protocol would not only help reduce the quantity of waste but also help in effective segregation and handling of waste generated during pongala.