Mahalaya Amavasya: Devotees offer tharpanam in Rameswaram

RAMANATHAPURAM: Unlike the pre-Covid times when thousands of people thronged the island to offer tharpanam to their ancestors on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasya, the numbers were reduced to a few hundreds due to measures taken by the district police. Mahalaya Amavasya is one of the three new moon days that attract heavy crowds in Rameswaram.
Anticipating crowds, the district administration as part of the pandemic preventive measures issued a statement that devotees would not be allowed to offer tharpanam and take a dip at the Agnitheertham Beach on Tuesday and Wednesday. The police blocked private vehicles at Pamban to prevent devotees from reaching Rameswaram.
The five roads connecting Agnitheertham Beach were also blocked with barricades. However, a section of the devotees reached the island by trains and by government buses. They offered tharpanam and took a dip at Sangumal Beach that is about 100 meters from Agnitheertham Beach.
Some also offered tharpanam in private farms and at the houses of temple priests residing in the main streets close to the Ramanathaswamy temple from the early hours of the day. Locals said that the crowd was much lesser compared to the several thousands who used to come in the yesteryears.