THRISSUR: Disappointing a large crowd of people who thronged the Swaraj Round to witness the fireworks display of Thrissur Pooram, one of the largest pyrotechnic shows, Thiruvambady devaswom stopped the pooram festivities abruptly for a couple of hours in protest against the unwanted restrictions imposed by the police for the first time in the history of the festival. The fireworks display which was scheduled to be held at 3 am on Saturday could begin only at 6.45 am.
The discontent over the police restrictions was already there from the beginning but it escalated as police used lathi against spectators and even Thiruvambady devaswom’s volunteers. The devaswom members also alleged that the police personnel deployed to ensure security misbehaved with the committee members during Madathil Varavu ceremony.
“While hundreds of volunteers worked day and night to organise the pooram, they were denied permission to enter the Thekkinkad Maidan and Swaraj Round. How can we justify such restrictions? Moreover, the police put up barricades wherever possible and restricted smooth movement of the people, dampening the spirit of Thrissur Pooram,” said Sundar Menon, Thiruvambady devaswom president. He alleged that the police were supposed to help devaswom in organising the pooram. But they took everything into their hands, putting the public in trouble. When the lathicharge took place, Thiruvambady devaswom authorities tried to contact Revenue Minister K Rajan. As he was not available, the devaswom authorities decided not to go ahead with the festivities. Madathil Varavu at night was stopped abruptly. Only one elephant was used for the procession and that too without the customary panchavadyam. The devaswom authorities also switched off the illumination lights on the pandal put up at the venue in protest.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Suresh Gopi and LDF candidate V S Sunilkumar rushed to Thiruvambady devaswom’s office and held discussions with the committee members. Later, Revenue Minister K Rajan and District Collector V R Krishna Teja intervened and urged the devaswom to complete the ceremonies, especially the fireworks display. After a delay of about 3.5 hours, fireworks display was held around 6.45 am after sunrise.
“What is the purpose of conducting fireworks display in daylight. It was disappointing to wait for such long hours. We reached Thrissur last night to witness the pyrotechnic show. But what turned out was really disappointing,” said a group of four men who came all the way from Kannur to watch the famed fireworks.
LDF seeks probe into police commissioner’s intervention
LDF district committee on Saturday urged the state government and Election Commission to initiate a probe into the interventions of the Thrissur city police commissioner which led to the disruption of pooram rituals. In an official statement issued on Saturday, the LDF alleged that RSS-BJP leaders Valsan Thillankery, B Gopalakrishnan and K K Aneeshkumar tried to take political advantage during the crisis. There was a conspiracy behind the entire incident, the LDF statement said.