Kancheepuram slowly returns to normalcy post festival
Curbs on movement eased on most roads; 4.5 lakh devotees visited on Friday
18/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,KANCHEEPURAM
Curbs on movement eased on most roads; 4.5 lakh devotees visited on Friday
18/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,KANCHEEPURAM
Police personnel leaving Kancheepuram following the conclusion of the Athi Varadar festival.S.R. Raghunathan
Residents of Kancheepuram town breathed easy on Saturday after the Athi Varadar festival at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple came to a close with police lifting the restrictions on movement on most roads. There was also a drastic reduction in the influx of devotees. There was not much police presence on the roads. Many devotees were seen leaving by bus at the Central bus stand.
Maharajan, a tourist car driver, said he had been to the temple town at least 15 times over the 48 days and movement of vehicles was very much restricted as there were devotees everywhere. “The roads look empty after a long time. It took me just five minutes to reach the central bus terminus from near the district collectorate,” he said.
T.V.Singarachari, a resident, said that though many did face a lot of difficulties, the festival went off smoothly and the various government departments had handled the crowds in a very good manner.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department Commissioner K. Phanindra Reddy said that on the 47th day, which was the last day for public darshan of Athi Varadar, a total of 4.5 lakh devotees had visited the temple and the final darshan was at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.
“Our initial estimates showed we would get only about 25,000 per day and one lakh during weekends but the numbers just grew and we were pushing 25,000 per hour during peak times. The number of hours of darshan per day went up to 23 hours,” he said.
District Collector P. Ponniah said that the removal of barricades and road restoration would be done within 2 -3 days.
“We are planning to bio mine the garbage collected during the festival, which was 30 tonnes per day. A total of nine FIRs have been filed against individuals for printing fake VIP passes during the festival,” he said.
Residents of Kancheepuram town breathed easy on Saturday after the Athi Varadar festival at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple came to a close with police lifting the restrictions on movement on most roads. There was also a drastic reduction in the influx of devotees. There was not much police presence on the roads. Many devotees were seen leaving by bus at the Central bus stand.
Maharajan, a tourist car driver, said he had been to the temple town at least 15 times over the 48 days and movement of vehicles was very much restricted as there were devotees everywhere. “The roads look empty after a long time. It took me just five minutes to reach the central bus terminus from near the district collectorate,” he said.
T.V.Singarachari, a resident, said that though many did face a lot of difficulties, the festival went off smoothly and the various government departments had handled the crowds in a very good manner.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department Commissioner K. Phanindra Reddy said that on the 47th day, which was the last day for public darshan of Athi Varadar, a total of 4.5 lakh devotees had visited the temple and the final darshan was at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.
“Our initial estimates showed we would get only about 25,000 per day and one lakh during weekends but the numbers just grew and we were pushing 25,000 per hour during peak times. The number of hours of darshan per day went up to 23 hours,” he said.
District Collector P. Ponniah said that the removal of barricades and road restoration would be done within 2 -3 days.
“We are planning to bio mine the garbage collected during the festival, which was 30 tonnes per day. A total of nine FIRs have been filed against individuals for printing fake VIP passes during the festival,” he said.
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