The famous Kalpathy car festival or Rathotsavam will be held from November 6 to 16. Elaborate arrangements are being made for the conduct of the festival. Representatives of the four major temples involved in the conduct of the festival, namely Sree Visalakshi Sametha Viswanatha Swamy Temple, Kalpathy; Mandakkarai Sree Maha Ganapathy Temple, New Kalpathy; Sree Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Temple, Old Kalpathy; and Sree Prasanna Maha Ganapathy Temple, Chathapuram, attended a meeting convened by the District Collector here.
K.S. Krishna, president of the Mandakkarai Sree Maha Ganapathy Temple, spoke at the meeting representing the temple coordination committee.
Some of the demands Mr. Krishna raised for the smooth conduct of the festival included controlling of the crowds and street vendors, proper regulation of traffic, enhancement of safety for women and children, repairing of roads leading to Kalpathy, and ensuring good health of not only the people of Kalpathy but also the visitors.
“Pulling of Ratha is a collective human endeavour. Proper management of people during the festival, especially on November 11, 13, 14 and 15, is required. We request the support of district administration for people management,” said Mr. Krishna. He also demanded early examination and certification of the wooden chariots by the engineering department. “Early examinations can avoid last-minute confusions,” he said.
Mr. Krishna also demanded that the sanctity of Kalpathy agraharas should be maintained during the festival by avoiding use and sale of non-vegetarian food items in Kalpathy villages. He also demanded setting up of temporary toilets in the outskirts of the villages.
Id cards for street vendors
The festival organisers also requested the district administration to control street vendors by issuing them identity cards. “Last year, certain street vendors selling food items were seen preparing the items using gas stoves by the road-side. This is highly dangerous during the movement of Rathams and massive presence of people. We want the use of stoves forbidden during the crowd movement,” they said.
District Police Chief R. Anand explained the security measures to be adopted during the festival. District Collector S. Chithra presided over the meeting.
Published - October 07, 2024 08:23 pm IST
