The day Election Commission of India announced the Lok Sabha poll schedule, political parties and people from various quarters complained about the date clashing with the annual car festival of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and sought to change the polling date. The district administration and the police towed the EC line, saying they could handle the crowd provided additional police force was requisitioned.
“Now that the schedule is out, all that we can talk about is how to manage the situation,” said a police officer. However, more than one official blamed the district administration of not properly presenting before EC the importance of Chithirai festival and the magnitude of its celebration in the Temple City where a sea of devotees from far and near congregates for days together.
“The EC went by the public holiday on April 19, declared for the grand entry of Lord Kallazhagar into Vaigai river. But the fact is the district administration failed to underline that entry of Kallazhagar into the Vaigai is only the climax of several grand rituals and events connected with the festival that lasts about a fortnight,” an official said.
A salient feature of Chithirai festival - a convergence of Saivite and Vaishavite traditions - starts with rituals and events at Meenakshi Temple and concludes with return of Kallazhagar to his abode on the foothills of Alagarkoil.
What is in store?
The dawn of polling day - April 18 - will see at least 30,000 people on East and South Masi Streets eagerly waiting to drawl the ropes of the temple cars. Over a lakh will witness the car festival. Hours before the cars could reach their destination, polling would have started.
Even before polling draws to a close, thousands of people would line up along Alagarkoil Road and New Natham Road to receive Kallazhagar, which is called ‘ethir sevai’ in northern parts of city.
These events usually warrant large scale traffic diversions for short to longer durations at different stretches of arterial roads. Still all the roads will be choked as thousands of vehicles queue up during festival. It would be near impossible for even an ambulance or a fire tender to wade through the sea of humanity in the event of an emergency, another police officer said.
Thousands of villagers follow Kallazhagar with family and friends. Most of the houses will swell with guests from different parts of the State. The 400-odd mandagapadis where Kallazhagar halts for a short duration will be crowded.
The festival is strongly woven into the culture of Madurai and even gates of government offices and star hotels are thrown open to devotees to sit, sleep and eat together. Residents will distribute food, snacks, water and other beverages to the devotees. “That we were able to collect one lakh signatures for SVEEP activity in two days during ‘ethir sevai’ during 2016 Assembly polls speaks about the magnitude of crowd,” a Revenue official said. Special permission given to keep Chithirai exhibition open throughout the night on ‘ethir sevai’ day to provide space for thousands of devotees only adds to the grandeur of the celebration.
Separate police teams
“We are aware of the challenges and ready to face them. We have planned to have different teams of police officers and personnel for election-related duties and bandobust for Chithirai festival,” Commissioner of Police S. Davidson Devasirvatham said. The police have sought an additional 3,700 security personnel to handle the two major tasks coinciding on the same day.
The district administration has declared over 120 polling stations around the temple as vulnerable and they will be manned by central security agencies. “We have planned to put up barricades on the roads to keep outsiders away. A detailed security plan is being charted out,” he said.
Model code of conduct
Stringent part of model code of conduct comes into effect from 5 p.m of April 16 after which no outsider will be allowed to stay in the city. People will not be permitted within the 100-metre radius of polling stations.
However, the grand event of celestial wedding will take place only during these ‘silent hours.’ At least, a lakh of people will wait in queues to have darshan at Meenakshi Temple on April 17. A grand feast at Sethupathi School will see devotees swarming to taste the spread throughout the day. Annadanam will happen at every junction of arterial roads and streets. “The focus of police will be totally on maintaining law and order. How can they implement the model code of conduct when thousands of devotees descend here,” wondered retired Assistant Commissioner of Police A. Ganesan.
“If the police try to regulate the crowd, it will only lead to commotion. Crowd can practise the rituals only at the cost of violating election code,” he said. Same will be the case even on polling day. The very charm of the festival is its colour and grandeur. “Devotees coming from other districts will certainly need food and water. The rural crowd will be on a buying spree. People show interest in buying garments and utensils. If all commercial establishments are closed owing to the public holiday declared on polling day, the very charm of car festival will be lost,” said S. Rethinavelu, senior president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Devotees would have to choose between either the festival or the ballot, he said.
Mr. Ganesan said the conflict of interest between the festival crowd and police regulation might lead to lower turnout at polling stations.
