THRISSUR: The Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswoms, the main organisers of the Thrissur Pooram, have welcomed the Town East police’s move to register a case in the Pooram disruption this year.
The registration of a case comes, six months after the incident and amid the bypoll, has sparked major discussions in the state.
A couple of days ago, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that the Pooram didn’t end up in total disruption, only the fireworks display was delayed. In response, CPI state chief Binoy Viswam affirmed that Pooram didn’t take place as it should have and that there were disruptions.
“We welcome the move to register a case and probe what went wrong in Thrissur Pooram this year,” said Girishkumar K, secretary, Thiruvambady Devaswom. “We wanted to make it clear that the devaswoms are not behind the disruption. We stand for conducting the pooram following all the rituals. Several rounds of meeting had been held to ensure the smooth conduct of the festival, but the decisions taken in all those meetings were not implemented on the day, leading to more troubles,” he said.
He opined that for the next pooram, the Centre and the state government should work together so that any obstacle can be removed.
“A major problem we face is the increase in the rent of Thekkinkadu Maidan to conduct the Pooram exhibition. The income from the exhibition is the primary source of funds for the pooram. If a portion of this income is paid as rent, then we will have to rethink the festival’s conduct. Though the chief minister intervened and instructed to maintain status quo this year, a decision on the matter is pending. Soon, we will begin preparations for the next Pooram,” he said.
Paramekkavu devaswom secretary G Rajesh said they would cooperate with any investigation into the fiasco. He also urged the Union and state governments to resolve the issues related to restrictions on fireworks display and elephant parade.
“In the present scenario, festival committees in the state are staring at a future where organising the event seems to be impossible. A collective effort is needed to avoid this situation,” he added.
Govt solely responsible for disruption: Surendran
Palakkad: Refuting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s claim, BJP state president K Surendran said on Monday that the state government is solely responsible for the disruption of the Thrissur Pooram festival. He said the government used the police and other officials to create disturbances, and now, the same police have filed an FIR on it. He also said that Pinarayi is being supported by Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on the matter. “The Opposition Leader claims that RSS caused the disruption, but neither the RSS nor the BJP is involved. He is lying to earn some votes by mentioning the RSS,” Surendran said. He said Suresh Gopi — the Thrissur MP — rushed to the scene but Satheesan and CPI criticised him.