MADURAI: An executive-level meeting to discuss the preparations in place for the Chithirai festival and Kallalagar procession in Madurai was held at the Madurai collectorate. Commercial Tax and Registration Department Minister P Moorthy and Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, who presided over the meeting, asked officials to take proper measures to prevent law and order problems like in the previous year's procession.
With the flag-hoisting at Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, the Chithirai festival began on Sunday. Major events, including the celestial wedding of the deities Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, the Chithirai car festival, and the Kallalagar procession, will be held in May as per the schedule. In view of the festival, a special meeting with officials from the police department, district administration, and city corporation, was hosted at the Madurai collectorate to discuss the preparations in place.
While addressing the meeting, ministers Moorthy and Palanivel Thiagarajan stated that being the largest festival celebrated in Madurai, the Chithirai festival would see a huge footfall of people from other districts and states, especially during the Kallalagar procession. "Last year, faulty crowd control had led to a stampede that claimed multiple lives. The police department must increase the police force at important places to monitor the crowds and prevent any untoward incidents. Police should also regulate vehicle movement properly and take action towards installing CCTV cameras for effective monitoring," they said.
They further stated that the entry of devotees for the Meenakshi ThiruKalyanam event, which will be held on May 3, should be properly regulated. "Only people with ID cards should be allowed to attend the festival. The city corporation and district administration must take action towards providing all basic amenities and first-aid facilities for devotees attending the festival in Madurai.
Box: Day-2 of Chithirai festival
Madurai: On the second day of the Chithirai festival, the deities of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple were adorned in traditional armor embedded with gems and were brought in a procession around the four Masi streets in Golden Chaparam. The deities were kept at Kulalar Mandagapadi during the day and were later taken on a procession in Bhootha and Anna Vahana back to the temple later in the night by 7 pm. Devotees, especially children dressed up as gods, thronged the temple to take part in the event.
