Trichy:

Having ensured that the first nine days of the Mahamaham festival were incident-free, Kumbakonam is all set for the final and most auspicious day of the event that is celebrated once in 12 years.

More than 20 lakh devotees are expected to descend on the town on Monday to take a holy dip in the Mahamaham tank.

Thanks to meticulous security arrangements, medical facilities, accommodation, food and transport facilities made by the authorities, the festival this year has been smooth and safe for millions of devotees, including sadhus and agoris from the northern states. After the stampede that ed around 50 devotees dur killed around 50 devotees during the Mahamaham on February 18, 1992, the organisers have been allowing devotees to take the holy dip from day one of the festival. The temple town witnessed around 35 lakh devotees during the last festival in 2004 that culminated on March 6. This year, the number is expected to cross 50 lakh.

The festival organisers have installed sprinklers to spray holy water on the people, but most devotees are likely to go for a dip in the tank, as is the custom.