Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday decided to declare a local holiday for Pongal, which fall on January 15 this year, in districts where there is considerable Tamil population in deference to a request from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan told the media after the Cabinet meeting that the holiday would apply to Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Wayanad districts.