Vinayaka idol procession, which had witnessed stone pelting and violence in Shencottai last year, was peacefully taken out with heightened police deployment on Tuesday.
With around 1,600 police personnel deployed in Shencottai keeping strict vigil 34 idols were taken for immersion in Gundar river before 6 p.m. As miscreants had pelted stones and footwear on the idol procession last year, the small town lost its peace. But normalcy was restored within a short time with Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish leading peace talks between Hindu and Muslims representatives.
This year, under strict security blanket, of the 52 idols kept in and around Shencottai, 18 were immersed on Monday itself and the remaining 34 were immersed on Tuesday. The idols kept in Puliyarai area were immersed in Hanuman river.
Ms. Shilpa , who visited Shencottai thrice before Vinayakar Chathurthi, said the efforts taken by the district administration had yielded good results with the cooperation of all concerned.
The Collector had declared holiday for all schools in Shencottai on Tuesday afternoon. Moreover, she ordered the closure of 19 TASMAC shops in Tenkasi, Shencottai and Kadayanallur taluks. Inspector General of Police, South Zone, K. P. Shanmugarajeswaran, who was camping at Shencottai since Sunday, said 1,600 policemen were deployed along the procession route.
Police had erected 50 check-posts around Shencottai and fitted surveillance cameras at vantage points. Moreover, the police also used drones to monitor the procession. In Tirunelveli city, Vinayaka idols were kept at 48 places. While an oversized idol kept at Kurichi was immersed on Tuesday in the Tamirabharani, the remaining 47 idols will be immersed on Sunday.