Meenakshi Thirukalyanam to promote Swachh Bharat

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Thirukalyanam, which takes place annually at the world famous Meenakshi Amman temple here has been identified by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as a platform to spread awareness about the Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan initiative.

In a circular sent by Sandhya Singh, Joint Director(State) of the Ministry to Principal Secretaries in-charge of rural water and sanitation in various States, the famous event, which is part of the annual Chithirai festival, is one of the 12 famous fairs, melas, yatras and festivals in the country.

During Chithirai (April-May) festival, thousands come in the city to witness the celestial wedding.

“Promoting a campaign about cleanliness will have a large reach, as the number of devotees who have been coming to witness the festival has risen over the years,” said N. Natarajan, Executive officer of the temple and Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments(HR & CE) department.

Ensuring cleanliness and access to drinking water and sanitation during the Chithirai festival requires the joint effort of staff of the temple, Madurai Corporation and district administration.

Temple officials said that while the Corporation was working round the clock to ensure that the streets outside the temple were clean, temple staff and special volunteers worked to keep the temple premises spic and span. Mobile toilets had been from Palani temple.

“With many distributing prasadhams and water to devotees who throng, there is indiscriminate dumping of garbage. A campaign like this would definitely help people who attend the festival to be more aware and contribute towards keeping the place clean,” P. Sankar, a devotee said.

Awareness campaigns and activities, setting up stalls and organising interactive activities on the initiative are to be held as a part of this initiative.

Among the other events identified are the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Rath Yatra in Orissa and Sonepur Livestock Fair in Bihar.

During Chithirai festival, thousands come to witness the celestial wedding.