People thronged the tourist spots of Yercaud, Hogenakkal, Mettur dam and also visited various temples on the occasion of ‘Kaanum Pongal’ on Saturday.
Boating
Men, women and children, who had come down to these tourist spots from different parts of the western districts exchanged Pongal greetings. At Hogenakkal, people took bath in River Cauvery and enjoyed boating.
Temporary fried fish stalls that had sprung up in this area served the visitors well. In Mettur too, people preferred to take bath in Cauvery and later visited the dam park, where they spent a few hours. The amusement equipment like swings and seesaw in the park were crowded with children. The hill station of Yercaud too attracted good crowd. People visited the hill station in buses, cars and in two-wheelers.
The police had set up special camps on the ghat road to check drunken driving. A large number of devotees visited the Perumal Temple on Kariyaperumal karadu malai since the break of dawn and offered special prayers. The police had made special arrangements for the devotees. People were not allowed to visit the temple after 6 p.m.
The Kurumbapatti Zoological Park at the Yercaud foothills and Anna Park in the city were the other spots frequented by the people taking advantage of the holiday.
The police had made elaborate security arrangements in all the tourist spots to regulate the crowd and check the activities of the anti-social elements.
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation also operated special services from different parts of the district to the tourist spots.
All the roads and the main business centres in the city and also in the suburban towns of Idappadi, Sankagiri, Attur, Gengavalli wore a deserted look today.
Even the markets which functioned for a few hours in the morning remained closed in the evening.
There were not many commuters in the bus stands and also at railway stations.
Since people prefer non-vegetarian food on the ‘Kaanum Pongal’ day, the fish markets and the mutton stalls did brisk business.
