A colourful procession involving hundreds of students marked the official beginning of the Ernakulam revenue district school youth fest at Tripunithura on Saturday.
The cultural procession was taken out by the students from the Government Sanskrit Higher Secondary School around 4 p.m. District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam flagged off the procession. It passed through Alliance Junction, S.N. Junction and East Fort before concluding at Layam ground. The procession was accompanied by percussion ensembles and various art forms.
Hundreds of people lined up on either side of the road to catch a glimpse of the event. Girls dressed in traditional attire held flashy parasols. Students waved colourful ribbons adding to the excitement in the air. Members of the NCC and Scouts wing of various schools also joined in the procession. Students from nearly 17 schools were part of the event.
Traffic divertedTraffic was regulated along the procession route. Vehicles coming from Kottayam and moving towards Ernakulam city were diverted from Kannankulangara.
Excise Minister K. Babu inaugurated the four-day festival. Even though the official inauguration was held on Saturday, the competitions will start only on Monday.
The cultural procession is usually held on the first day of the fest. But Education Department officials clarified that the procession was held on Saturday as the Ministers and other elected representatives would not be able to make it on December 1 in view of the start of the Assembly session.
The organisers said that the festival would be held at 17 venues. Competitions would be held for over 290 items. About 8,000 students are expected to participate in the four-day fest that will conclude on December 4.
