TIRUNELVELI
Though the salubrious climate and electrifying drizzle in Courtallam have vanished completely, much to the disappointment of tourists and traders, ‘Saral Tiruvizha 2017’ that will commence on Thursday is expected to enthral visitors with a range of cultural events and competitions.
The celebrations will start at Kalaivanar Kalaiyarangam at Courtallam at 6 p.m. on Thursday, in which Minister for Tourism ‘Vellamandi’ N. Natarajan; Minister for Information ‘Kadambur’ C. Raju and Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare V.M. Rajalakshmi; Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Apoorva Varma; Tourism Commissioner V. Palanikumar and Collector Sandeep Nanduri will participate.
On Friday, the Ministers, in the presence of Mr. Nanduri, will inaugurate ‘Hortshow 2017’ at Eco Park near the Five Falls. After crossing a ‘fruits arch’ to be erected specially for the six-day show, the visitors can take their pictures at ‘selfie point’.
“We’ve planned to attract tourists with beautiful vegetable carvings, and dolphins, penguins, Bharatanatyam girl, etc. – all made with roses and coronation flowers. A 20-foot-long replica of Fort St. George, being made of spices by an expert from Udhagamandalam, will greet the visitors,” said Kannan, Joint Director of Horticulture.
On the last day of ‘Hortshow 2017’, the Department of Horticulture has planned to organise a seminar on ‘Vegetable cultivation’ and distribute to the public vegetable seeds for homestead gardens.
As usual, swimming, archery, mini marathon, yoga, rangoli and drawing competitions and a dog show will be conducted during this year’s celebrations.
Expecting a significant surge in arrival of tourists, the police have intensified security arrangements in and around Courtallam.
Though a range of competitions and cultural events will be staged, absence of cultural troupes, usually drawn from different States, may disappoint the visitors this year. Apart from the cultural troupes from Kerala and Karnataka, folk artistes from north-eastern States used to be roped for the ‘Saral Tiruvizha’ as their performance attracted huge crowds every year.
