Thousands of people of all age groups made a beeline for Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at Goripalayam to offer their respects on the occasion of his 50th guru puja on Tuesday. Scores of police personnel were posted at the busy five-road junction to maintain smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
Men, women, children, infants and the aged turned up in large numbers to garland the huge bronze statue. The authorities had provided a temporary second ladder for the people to climb up and pay their respects. Women from different parts of the city carried sprouts in procession and went around the statue as mark of paying homage to the leader. Women from different groups identified themselves with their saris. Men and women brought milk pots and ‘kumbhams’ for performing abhishekam for the statue.
A dozen women, draped in yellow saris, performed pujas to the statue and offered prasadam in the form of ‘vibuthi’ to the people. The people also took back home the garlands used on the statue. Many also broke coconuts under the high pedestal. Few showered flowers, a van-full, on the road all around the statue.
The bandobust arrangements with barricades erected by the police around the statue prevented crowding of people at the junction. The police had put up five watch towers on all sides to monitor movement of people and vehicles. At least three police personnel kept on giving instructions to the people and vehicle drivers over public address system that helped in smooth flow of traffic.
With the police strict in not allowing beating of drums anywhere inside the barricaded area, the youths, who used to dance around the statue in the past, could not hang around for a long time. Besides, earmarking of parking lot near the Government Rajaji Hospital prevented traffic congestion.
Though the police ensured that the motorbike-borne youths did not make rounds around the statue, they could not prevent bikes carrying more than two persons dangerously zooming on the arterial roads.
Among the leaders who paid their respects were V.V. Rajan Chellappa (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam); K. Anbazhagan (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam); Vaiko (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam); A.G.S. Rambabu (Congress); Pon. Radhakrishnan (Bharatiya Janata Party); P.V. Kathiravan (All India Forward Bloc); N. Sethuraman (All India Moovender Munnani Kazhagam) and Seeman (Naam Tamilar).
