Muthuramalinga Thevar jayanthi and guru puja passed off peacefully on Friday with thousands of people, mostly women, paying homage to the bronze statue of the freedom fighter at Goripalayam here.
Men, women and children stood in serpentine queues at the road junction to garland the statue and pour milk on it from the pots they had carried from various parts of the city in processions. The city police ensured that the processions did not come through Albert Victor Bridge, but took the Kalpalam so as to prevent traffic disruption.
The spacious area in front of the statue was utilised to regulate the crowd coming with milk pots, sprouts and those coming in two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Most of the shops around the junction remained closed throughout the day since early morning. Though the city police planned to complete the processions of people carrying milk pots and sprouts by noon, it extended beyond 1.30 p.m.
With processions coming from all directions, the police had to regulate traffic on the junction. Four-wheelers and heavy vehicles on Periyar statue-Goripalayam junction stretch were diverted through Gandhi Museum Road whenever the crowd and vehicles swelled at the junction.
Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav supervised the crowd control exercise at the junction from the mini control room set up in a nearby building. Deputy Commissioners of Police Samanth Rohan Rajendra and Rajaraman were present.
The police had provided a different passage for women carrying sprouts to go around the Thevar statue. Buses and other vehicles proceeding to Panagal Road (Anna bus stand) were allowed through Palam Station Road instead of the parallel road which was reserved exclusively for the processions and vehicles coming to pay homage to the leader.
Most of the groups of women had come in uniform. The youths, sporting yellow bands around their head, danced and whistled to drum beats all the way on the procession route.
The Commissioner said that no drum beat was allowed at the junction which helped the police to keep the crowd standing in queues calm. Men and women were busy taking selfies in front of the Thevar statue.
The youths also displayed their ‘silambam’ and ‘surul val’ talents at the junction.
