VHP leader ‘Chinmaya’ Somasundaram said caste Hindus were keen on conducting the Muthalamman festival at Uthapuram as they feared that they would lose the chance of holding the festival to another village, Gopalapuram.
The ritual is that Muthalamman idols made at Elumalai were given to 18 villages in and around the place. If a village fails to conduct the festival for two consecutive years it will lose the opportunity, Mr. Somasundaram said. With caste Hindus squabbling among themselves, the festival could not be held in 2014. Consequently, there was pressure was on the organisers to hold the festival this year. “Villagers of Gopalapuram had been asking for this festival. However, the ritual is that the number of idols cannot be increased. If this year the festival could not be conducted at Uthapuram, the organizers at Elumalai were inclined to give the right to Gopalapuram,” he said. It was in this backdrop, the caste Hindus readily agreed to the conditions of the district administration so that the prohibitory order was withdrawn, a police officer said.
