The statue of freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial in Pasumpon was adorned with the gold ‘kavasam’ (ornamental plate) amid tight security on Tuesday, ahead of the 54th Thevar Jayanthi scheduled to be celebrated on October 30.
After Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam took possession of the 13 kg ‘kavasam’, made in four segments, from the locker of Bank of India’s Anna Nagar branch in Madurai in the morning, it was taken to Pasumpon, where Minister for Information Technology M. Manikandan adorned the three-foot-high statue in sitting posture with the kavasam.
Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar and Gandhi Meenal, legal heir of the Thevar family, accompanied Mr. Panneerselvam when he took possession of the ‘kavasam’ from the bank officials. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had presented the gold armour on September 2, 2014.
A special puja was performed after the statue was adorned with the ‘kavasam’ and garlanded.
Mr. Manikandan and a host of party men took part in the puja.
The statue would remain adorned with the gold kavasam till October 31, and the kavasam would be taken back to the bank for safe custody on November 1, official sources said.
As people would keep flocking to the memorial till the Thevar Jayanthi, armed policemen would be at guard at the memorial, Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan said.
