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Thiru A festive temper gripped the metropolis connected Monday, arsenic the timepiece coiled down to the Attukal Pongala festival connected Tuesday. Labelled arsenic among the largest spiritual congregations of women successful the country, thousands of families crossed Kerala and besides neighbouring States are trickling into a six-km radius of the famed Attukal Devi Temple to connection a sacrament of atom and jaggery cooked connected makeshift ceramic hearths. Customarily, residents and places of worship, including mosques and churches specified arsenic the Manacaud Valliya Palli, Palayam Juma Masjid, and St Joseph Cathedral, person opened their doors to devotees to bivouac. Hundreds of devotees are sleeping unsmooth connected unfastened crushed prepared by residents’ associations. Many person reserved spaces successful the festival country successful beforehand to acceptable up Pongala hearths. Business is brisk among vendors selling earthen pots, kindling and bricks for unfastened hearths. Several movie theatres person announced escaped screenings for devotees connected Pongala eve. High-decibel dependable systems, blaring, deafening music, and decorative lighting person imbued respective metropolis neighbourhoods with a festive mood. The festivities had their flipside. Religious processions bound for Attukal Temple from antithetic parts of the territory snarled postulation and made it hard for the travelling nationalist to scope autobus stands, railway stations and airports. Unchecked dependable contamination was the bane of students preparing for examinations and elder citizens. The Fire and Rescue Services person identified occurrence hazard locations successful the festival areas and positioned firefighting equipment, including occurrence tenders, accordingly. The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, K. Karthick, reviewed the information and postulation arrangements for the event. The constabulary person announced a highest deployment of 5,000 instrumentality enforcers, including women, connected Pongala Day. They person marked routes for the speedy question of exigency services if request arises. The constabulary would usage CCTV networks, aerial drones, and ticker towers arsenic unit multipliers. They person intensified patrolling and deployed plainclothes squads to forestall petty crime, specified arsenic necklace theft and purse snatching. The constabulary person acceptable up assistance desks for tracing missing persons, chiefly children parted from their parents successful the festival rush. The Health Department has deployed aesculapian teams, including those moving connected two-wheelers, and ambulances astatine 10 locations crossed the festival area. It has opened a Special Control Room wrong the temple precincts. The authorities has opened exigency rooms equipped with beds crossed the festival country to dainty heatstroke patients and pain victims, including astatine the Women and Children’s Hospital, Thycaud, and the Government Fort Hospital, arsenic good arsenic assorted schools and different institutions. It has besides readied the General Hospital and the Government Medical College Hospital successful Thiruvananthapuram to admit wide casualties. The Ayurveda and Homoeopathy Departments person besides opened clinics and exigency rooms successful the festival area. The Food Safety Department has insisted that lone government-registered groups whitethorn service nutrient and beverages to devotees. Food information inspectors volition inspect assemblage kitchens and organisation centres to guarantee hygiene standards.
Published - March 02, 2026 09:00 p.m. IST
