Latest news with #Chithirai
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- The Hindu
Police constable recruits save boy's life during Chithirai festival
Some of the police constable recruits who were deployed for bandobust duty for Chithirai festival in Madurai acted swiftly and saved the life of a young boy who had suffered accidental electrocution at Tallakulam on May 11. Amid a sea of devotees, the boy collapsed after he suffered the electric shock. The police constable recruits - N. Chandramohan and T.R. Chinthanaivalavan - administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a life-saving technique. As they realised that an ambulance could not reach the spot as it was teeming with hundreds of thousands of people, the two, along with two of their colleagues E. Saranraj and L. Siman, carried the boy on their shoulders and rushed him to the Government Rajaji Hospital, finding way amid the crowd. Commissioner of Police J. Loganathan on Wednesday honoured the recruits for their timely and courageous intervention that got him prompt medical attention to save the boy's life.
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- The Hindu
Law and order: Good planning and meticulous execution by police helps Chithirai festival pass off incident-free
A meticulous and elaborate planning with some innovative ideas coupled with perfect execution by Madurai City Police saw the crowd-pulling Chithirai festival pass off incident-free in the last one week. Having learnt from bitter lessons in the past, the police left no stones unturned right from regulating the crowd to providing them safe and secure space and keeping trouble mongers away. 'We tried to fill up all the small gaps in security arrangements to avoid untoward incidents as hundreds of thousands of people from children to aged persons turned up for the mega events like car festival (of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple) and Ethir sevai and the ritual of entry of Lord Kallazhagar into Vaigai river,' said Commissioner of Police, J. Loganathan. After having made the decisions at the drawing board, the police officials had a thorough follow up with officials of all departments concerned to i implement the time-consuming work. The Corporation officials removed encroachments from roadsides and took up patch works on the road. Engineers of Highways Department cleaned up the dug-up Alagarkoil Road from Tamukkam to Goripalayam and also covered the under-construction sites and scaffolding to make them out of bounds for the enthusiastic crowd of devotees. The police also drew elaborate arrangement for jam-packed crowd that would stay put on Alagarkoil Road along Prasanna Venkatachalapathy Temple where Lord Kallazhagar stays for Tirumanjanam ritual. Filtering trouble-mongers To keep the trouble mongers away, the police had different layers of picketing at multiple points on all roads leading towards Tamukkam and Goripalayam junction. 'Men in civvies were deployed at 51 tracks to filter drunk persons, crime offenders and trouble mongers. These teams were able to pick up some 60 persons and also seize some weapons much before these people could mingle in the crowd,' Mr. Longanathan said. These people could have created some nuisance like harassing women if they had got into the crowd. Similarly, some 100 CCTV cameras were erected on this stretch. 'These cameras with artificial intelligence facility were put up to detect a long list of history-sheeters and property offenders from across the State. Six drones were set off in the air by the police to have an aerial view of the choc-o-bloc crowd. 'We were able to alert the nearest police teams around to manage the crowd throughout the night at Tamukkam and also on the Vaigai riverbed,' he added. Watch on Vaigai water The police also kept a watch on the depth of water flowing in the Vaigai riverbed so that it did not pose danger to the devotees wading through it to have a glimpse of Lord Kallazhagar. Despite that, teams of firemen and swimmers from police were deployed at vantage points to rescue people in distress as a precautionary measure. The Commissioner said that the identity tags distributed among hundreds of children paid off. 'Though only one incident of the police having to restore a missing child with its parents happened in the entire Chithirai festival, the very tying of tags by police made the parents more conscious in taking care of the children in the crowd,' he added. The QR codes displayed in over 100 places came handy for three persons to contact the police during emergency. The Commissioner said that a gangway put for the second year helped the massive crowd of devotees from Goripalayam junction to trickle into riverbed via Moongilkadai Street smoothly without interrupting the pathway of the deity. 'This helped melting of crowd without any resistance at the junction,' he added.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Time of India
Kallazhagar begins return journey to Alagar hills
Madurai : Lord Kallazhagar began his return journey to the Alagar hills on Thursday morning, marking the final leg of the Chithirai festivities . The revered deity, who descended into the city in royal grandeur, was taken on the traditional 'Poo Pallakku' (floral palanquin) procession, a significant cultural and spiritual event that drew thousands of devotees through the night and into early morning. Mounted on Anantha Rayer Pallakku, the deity was decorated with vibrant floral arrangements and regal ornaments, creating a stunning visual spectacle. The palanquin, adorned entirely with fresh flowers of varied hues, moved gracefully through the streets, with devotees chanting hymns and offering prayers. For many, witnessing this part of the festival is considered auspicious, said the devotees. The procession which commenced at 7am from Ramanathapuram Mannar Sethupathi Mandapam at Tamukkam passed through important locations including Mariamman temple (out post), Ambalakarar Mandapam, and Moondru Maavadi. The deity crossed Madurai city limits on the way to Sundararajan Patti and is scheduled to reach Alagarkovil by Friday morning. While the spiritual significance of the procession was not lost on the crowds, the event also caused heavy traffic disruptions, particularly on Natham Road and adjacent localities such as Narimedu and Bibi Kulam. Several arterial and interior roads were blocked, resulting in long delays for morning commuters. "We couldn't step out for work or drop our children at school on time. The procession is a cherished tradition, but there needs to be better traffic management," said R. Balamurugan, a resident of Bibi Kulam. Another commuter, Priya Suresh of Narimedu, said clear communication and alternate routes should be planned in advance. City police deployed personnel at key junctions and used barricades to manage the crowd and traffic. Officials later urged the public to cooperate, citing the festival's cultural importance and large turnout.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Time of India
Teen drowns in Vaigai river near Sholavandan
1 2 Madurai: A 17-year-old boy who came to witness the Chithirai festival near Sholavandan in Madurai on Monday drowned in the Vaigai said S Jayavasikaran, 17, currently residing at Kariapatti in Virudhunagar, came with his family to Sholavandan to witness the Sri Narasinga Perumal Temple Chithirai festival. On the course of the festival, he and his friend Ayyanar were playing in the river. There was a good flow in the river as water was being released from the Vaigai dam for the Lord Kallazhagar's entry into the boys suddenly entered deep water and were unable to stay afloat. Passersby heard their cries and rushed to save them. While Ayyanar was rescued, Jayavasikaran drowned. Fire and rescue service personnel recovered Jayavasikaran's body and sent it for a postmortem examination. Ayyanar was admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital. Police registered a case and are the Madurai city police issued a statement denying reports that the death of an unidentified man was due to being caught in the Chithirai festival crowd. Police said that the man's body was found below the Yanaikkal new bridge and was later identified to be K Marikannan, 42, of Sellur. They said Marikannan was separated from his family three years ago and was sleeping on streets. He died due to illness and his death was unrelated to the Chithirai festival crowd, police said.
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- The Hindu
Two boys drown in Vaigai river in Sholavandan
Two boys drowned in the Vaigai river at Sholavandan near here on Monday in which one of them was rescued and the other died. The police identified the deceased as S. Vaseegaran, 16, of Kariapatti. The police said that Vaseegaran had come to his grandparents house in Sholavandan for the Chithirai festival at Janagai Narayanaperumal Temple. Along with N. Ayyanar, 17, he had been playing in the Vaigai river where the Water Resources Department has been releasing water from Vaigai dam in connection with Chithirai festival ritual of Lord Kallazhagar entering Vaigai river. The boys, who were playful, had got into the deeper side and drowned. While Ayyanar raised an alarm and people who were around pulled him out within few minutes. He was rushed to the Government Hospital in Sholavandan where he was given first aid. Later, he was admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai. Meanwhile, a search was launched by the firemen for the missing boy. He was found some 100 metres downstream as he was washed away by the strong current in the river. He was declared brought dead by the doctor at the GH in Sholavandan. Sholavandan police are investigating.
