Public hearing for Karthigai fest fails to resolve issues

The key purpose of the hearing was to ensure that residents, especially those who lived on four mada streets, to get the cooperation of the residents.

A common complaint was that despite having official passes, residents were not allowed to park near their houses.

Around 100 persons turned up for the hearing and most of the issues raised were regarding the various functions inside the temple.

The main demand was that the entry should not be restricted to devotees during the flag hoisting on November 14, which marks the official commencement of the 10-day festival.

This issue figured prominently because the devotees can enter the temple through four main entrances, but to witness the flag hoisting, they have to pass through another entrance near the Kili Gopuram.

However, entry to this venue is restricted while devotees are allowed to enter the temple premises. Collector Kandasamy after hearing the views of the public on this issue, explained why the entry is restricted to the limited space.

Another major grievance was that despite many temporary bus stands being set up during the festival days, none of them could be easily reached.

Many participants blamed cops posted on duty outside the town limits.

Though rates are fixed for autos to different destinations, the time taken to reach those locations was an issue of major concern, complained many people. “Though we assured to take all possible steps to make the Deepam fest a trouble-free affair, all our efforts may not yield results to the fullest level in a small town like Tiruvannamalai, which has to handle a whopping 30 lakh people in 10 days,” officials said.

SP MR Sibi Chakravarthy and DRO P Rathinasamy were also present during the public hearing.