Preparations for the annual festival of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni have begun iin Nagapattinam. The celebration begins on August 29 with flag hoisting and ends on September 8 with the car procession.
On Monday, Collector A. Arun Thamburaj, Superintendent of Police G. Jawahar, and other officials visited the Basilica to review the preparations being made for the 11-day festival.
According to the Collector, 24-hour bus services would be operated from various places to make it easier for devotees to travel without hassle. Appropriate measures would be taken to ensure that school vehicles are operated from the locality without hindrance.
“Precautionary measures will be taken to identify habitual offenders. For better monitoring, CCTV cameras will be installed on the church premises, and a 24-hour surveillance will be maintained. Measures will be taken to prevent congestion during the car procession,” said Mr. Thamburaj.
Also, children would be provided waterproof identity card with the contact number of their parents so as to prevent them from being lost. Boundaries would be set to prevent devotees from going deep into the beach. Firefighters and rubber boats would be kept ready.
According to officials, medical camps will be put up in more than 10 locations with doctors and staff, to help pilgrims. COVID-19 vaccinations camps will also be set up. To make sure that the sale of meat and fish is hygienic, all of the canteens in the area will be inspected and the food quality will be tested.
Considering the anticipated crowd, all departments, including Public Health, Police, and Transport, had been told to make preparations for the event in accordance with the estimation that more than two lakh people may attend this time, the Collector added.
