To save devotees taking out padayatra to Tiruchendur from being knocked down by speeding vehicles at night, Collector M. Kaurnakaran and Superintendent of Police V. Vikraman stuck reflective stickers on them on Thursday night as part of the ongoing Road Safety Week celebrations.
As thousands of devotees from various parts of Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar districts take out padayatra to Tiruchendur via the narrow roads of Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai in view of Pongal, their safety is under threat from the speeding vehicles at night.
Since the 48-km-long two-lane State Highway between Palayamkottai and Tiruchendur is narrow with a lot of curves, walking along the road at night becomes riskier.
When a youth from Thuppakudi in the district was taking out padayatra from his native place to Sri Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur along with his friends, he was fatally knocked down by a vehicle at Suththamalli on Tuesday night.
Four of his friends sustained injuries.
To prevent such accidents, Dr. Karunakaran and Mr. Vikraman stuck reflective stickers either on the back of the devotees or on the cloth bags they were carrying since this measure would at least alert the drivers of the vehicles coming from behind.
“This exercise will continue in the future also whenever the padayatra devotees cross the district,” Dr. Karunakaran said.
