Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed all departments concerned to coordinate well for the smooth conduct of the Attukal pongala festival.
Convening a meeting on the premises of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple to review preparations for the festival, Mr. Vijayan directed officials to ensure cleanliness of streets where the pongala offerings would be made by devotees. He also insisted on installing adequate facilities for those coming from far-off places. A sufficient number of mobile bathrooms must be stationed at various parts of the city, he said.
Complete
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said all arrangements for conducting the festival were complete, adding that the focus would be on maintaining hygiene.
Necessary steps had been adopted to prevent any possible drinking water shortage. The Additional District Magistrate was overseeing the coordination among departments, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Mayor V.K. Prasanth said an adequate number of workers had been deployed by the sanitation wing of the Corporation. Public works had been undertaken in 22 wards. Green protocol would be strictly implemented.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera said a control room had begun working on the temple premises.
As many as 3,700 police personnel would be deployed for security on the pongala day.
They include 600 women police officers and 50 women commandos. In addition, women police personnel would be deputed for the purpose by the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments. Moreover, five drones would be deployed for surveillance.
Minister for Local Self-Governments A.C. Moideen; V.S. Sivakumar and O. Rajagopal, MLAs; ADGPs Manoj Abraham and Anil Kant; Devaswom Secretary K.R. Jyothilal; Thiruvananthapuram Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar; councillors and office-bearers of the temple also took part in the meeting.