Three ‘kambams’ (sacred stems) planted before three Mariamman temples as part of the annual festival, were removed and taken out in a procession and later immersed at Karavaikal here on Saturday.
The stems, planted at Periya Mariamman, Chinna Mariamman and Vaikkal Mariamman temples, were removed at 2 p.m. and were brought to the Manikoondu (clock tower) area amid the presence of a large number of devotees. From there, the stems were taken out in a procession that passed through Eswaran Kovil Street, Kamaraj Street, Meenatchi Sundaranar Road, GH Roundabout, Mettur Road, Swastik Roundabout, Sakthi Road, Ellai Mariamman Kovil, Nethaji Road, Manikoondu, Periyar Street, Marapalam, Mandapam Street, Cutchery Street, R.K.V. Road, Town Police Station and Agraharam Street before reaching Karavaikal. In the evening, the three ‘kambams’ were immersed at Karavaikal.
Earlier, when the kambams were removed, people across the city splashed water mixed with turmeric powder on each other and celebrated the festival. Police personnel were posted on all the roads to ensure peaceful procession.
Traffic was diverted from 2 p.m. on all the roads where the procession took place and most of the shops were closed in the afternoon.
