The Coimbatore Day, celebrated on November 24 every year with much fanfare, saw no major events on Tuesday due the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Vanitha Mohan, Managing Trustee of the NGO Siruthuli, the Coimbatore Day is being celebrated since 2003, the year Siruthuli was founded. “We felt that as Coimbatoreans, we needed to come together,” she told The Hindu .
Based on the recommendation of historian Rajesh Govindarajulu, who was a member of the NGO at that time, it was decided that Siruthuli and other organisations will join hands to celebrate Coimbatore Day on November 24 every year, Ms. Mohan said.
Mr. Govindarajulu said that on November 24, 1804, the East India Company declared Coimbatore as the district headquarters of the erstwhile Coimbatore district.
He said that he came across this information years ago in the book ‘ Idhuvo Engal Kovai’ authored by ‘Kovai Kizhar’ C.M. Ramachandran. “It was a historic occurrence,” Mr. Govindarajulu said, based on which he recommended the date to Siruthuli in 2003 for the celebrations of ‘Coimbatore Day’.
Secretary of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore R. Raveendran said that no major events were organised for Coimbatore Day this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
