In view of ‘Karthigai Deepam,’ nine special trains, and 3,000 special buses will be operated, according to Collector K.S. Kandasamy.
According to a press release, the Collector said they expected 25 to 30 lakh devotees to visit Tiruvannamalai for the ‘Karthigai Deepam.’ For the benefit of devotees travelling from across Tamil Nadu and other States, Southern Railway is operating nine special trains from Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Chennai, Villpuram and Vellore to Tiruvannamalai.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation will operate 3,000 special buses that would make 7,300 trips. For this, 16 temporary bus stands are being established on the nine roads leading to Tiruvannamalai town.
Eighty two mini buses will be operated from these temporary bus stands to take devotees to the ‘Girivalam’ path. These shuttle services will be operated free for the devotees.
The Collector along with officials inspected the works under way for the ‘Karthigai Deepam’ festival on Sunday. This year, arrangements have been made to enable devotees keep their belongings in two cloak rooms at the Esanya ground and Tiruvannamalai municipality main bus stand free of cost.
Fifty temporary and free parking spaces have been created to facilitate devotees coming in motorbikes and cars to park their vehicles. A total of 15,000 vehicles can be parked.
Medical camps have been arranged in 43 places at Tiruvannamalai town, Sri Arunchaleswarar Temple and the Girivalam path.
Ten first responder bikes and four mobile medical facilities have also been arranged.
A total of 8,000 police personnel will be deployed for security for the ‘Karthigai Deepam’ festival, according to R. Ponni, Superintendent of Police, Tiruvannamalai.
The police force will be led by two Inspectors General (IG) of Police, three Deputy Inspectors General and 18 Superintendents of Police, she said, according to a press release.
As part of security measures, the department will erect watch towers, and also set up 35 ‘May I Help You’ booths.
Arrangements have been made to display the photographs of missing persons on screens through the police control room. Separate control rooms are being set up to monitor the temple, transport and criminal activities.
Around 400 police personnel would be deployed for security on the premises of the Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple. A total of 101 Closed-Circuit Television cameras have been installed inside the temple, while Tiruvannamalai Town and Girivalam path have been covered by 140 to 150 cameras.
Personnel attached to the police department, fire and rescue services, special task force and commandos will guard the top of the Annamalai Hills during the lighting of the ‘deepam.’
Holiday on December 2
Collector K.S. Kandasamy has said that December 2 will be a local holiday for offices and educational institutions functioning under the State government on account of the ‘Maha Karthigai Deepam’ for Tiruvannamalai district, a press release said.
