Lord Kallazhagar’s entry into Vaigai river was largely incident-free on Friday with elaborate arrangements made by the city police, Madurai Corporation and district administration.
S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Commissioner of Police, said that though the number of personnel deployed in bandobust arrangements was fewer than previous years, meticulous planning and effective deployment of the available strength helped in ensuring that no untoward incident happened during the festival.
“While we generally use around 3,000 personnel during this festival season, this year we had around 2,000,” he said.
Importantly, he highlighted that the use of around 1,000 new recruits made a key difference. “They were committed, sincere and did not let us down,” he said, adding that rehearsals were done with senior officials in different places that required crowd control.
Apart from this, to reduce chain-snatching incidents, safety pins were distributed to women by women police to hook their jewellery with clothes. “During car festival, we had no incidents. There was information that three chain-snatching incidents were reported during Kallazhagar’s entry. Our crime teams are investigating,” he said.
While a section of public expressed concern that they were not able to see the deity due to barricading by the police at different spots, police officials said that it was necessary to avoid stampede-like situation.
A total of 78 mobile toilets from Kadachanendal to Vandiyur and plastic drinking water tanks in 38 places were provided by Madurai Corporation. At least 100 tonnes of bleaching powder was used for sanitation work.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan said that around 1,200 conservancy workers were deployed on a rotational basis to clear garbage generated in the city during the festival.
