Karthigai Deepam festival: Minister Velu inspects Girivalam,other facilities in Tiruvannamalai
About 40 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple town for the event this year.
Minister for Public Works, Highways, and Minor Ports EV Velu inspecting the preparations for Tiruvannamalai Deepam festival
TIRUVANNAMALAI: State Public Works Minister EV Velu on Tuesday inspected the preparations under way for the Karthigai Deepam festival at the Tiruvannamalai Girivalam path, temporary bus stands, and key public facilities, ahead of the Maha Deepam scheduled for Wednesday.
About 40 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple town for the event this year.
The state minister reviewed arrangements made by multiple departments, including drinking water points, lighting, temporary toilets, parking areas, and crowd management measures.
He inspected the temporary bus termini and verified the functioning of drinking water pipelines and motor systems set up by the Municipality and Highways Department. Health officials briefed him on the deployment of medical teams and ambulance facilities at the temple premises, Mada Veedhis and the girivalam route.
Velu said the government had completed the Chief Minister’s 2021 election announcement to lay the Arunachaleswarar Temple car route with cement-concrete. He stated that the temple car moved smoothly on the newly laid stretch earlier this week, and that devotees had welcomed the upgraded roadway.
The district administration has launched a dedicated Android app for festival-related information, including temporary bus stands, parking areas, medical camps, purified drinking water centres and police help desks.
Departments, including Revenue, Rural Development and the Municipality, have coordinated arrangements under the supervision of the district Collector.
This year, 4,764 special buses will operate for festival travel, marking a 20 per cent increase over last year. A total of 24 temporary bus stands and 130 parking areas have been established. On the day of the Maha Deepam, 220 private and educational institution buses will run free of cost between parking areas, temporary bus stands and the girivalam path, along with 200 mini buses operating at a minimum fare of Rs 10. Forty spare buses have also been kept ready to manage congestion.
A coordination team led by a sub-collector is overseeing all departmental work. Drinking water facilities have been set up at 51 locations, while 14 purified water centres have been arranged by the Highways Department. Police personnel have been deployed in adequate numbers, and AI-enabled surveillance cameras have been installed at the temple complex, Mada Veedhis and the girivalam path.
District Collector Tharppagaraj, Mayor Nirmala Velmaran, Tamil Nadu Athletic Association vice-president Dr EVV Kamban, Highways divisional engineer Gnanavel, Municipal Commissioner Selva Balaji and other officials were present.