Trichy / Rameswaram :

Large crowds who had come to pay homage to their ancestors on the occasion of ‘Thai Amavasai’ gathered along water bodies in the state on Tuesday. The Rameswaram beach was flooded with people, while traffic came to a standstill in the temple towns  of Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur and other places.
Nearly one lakh people from across the nation turned up at the Rameswaram beach to perform the rituals. Small groups of people could be seen all through the banks of the Cauvery River, which flows till the delta districts in the south. In Trichy, large crowds flocked to the banks of Amma Mandapam in the temple town of Srirangam. They took a dip in the Cauvery River, which is believed to be holy. According to Hindu mythology, Thai amavasai is considered an auspicious day, when devotees remember and pay respects to their forefathers. Devotees sat in the direction of the sun and offered their prayers. The rituals began early, at around 4 am, with priests and the public seated on the sides of the Amma Mandapam road.

In Srirangam, water had been released from the Mettur dam a few days ago especially for the occasion. The locality was fully packed, with little space to move around. Security was tightened along the shore since the Cauvery is flowing to its maximum and several drowning cases were reported in the past few months. Police personnel were also deployed to assist the people.

The civic body erected barricades made out of stainless steel extending along the river, to prevent devotees from going deep into the water. A well made out of stainless steel was dug to collect old clothes, to avoid pollution of the river. A concrete platform for the devotees to bath was also part of the arrangements.

However, in Rameswaram, many of the visitors announced displeasure at the arrangements. Those who had not booked their accommodation in advance were forced to spend their time in vehicles or on the roadside. Making matters worse, as much as Rs 20 was demanded at the paid toilets, visitors said. Since most hotels were full, people queued before the ‘annadhanam’ to try and get a meal.

Lack of proper traffic arrangements created traffic snarls in many places, with vehicles moving at a snail’s pace on the Pamban Bridge. Tourist buses had to be stopped about a kilometer away from the temple, and elderly people had to walk for long distances under the hot sun. Many of them complained of giddiness. S Shivakumar, a visitor, said the garbage management and drinking water facilities were also poor.

In Tiruchendur and Kanyakumari, crowds started coming in at the temples as early as 3 am, and made offerings at the beach. Thirupuvanam in Sivaganga, besides the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, too drew a large number of devotees. Special arrangements were also made for the public in Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / TNN / January 21st, 2015