Devotees sustain injuries during Chariot festival in Nalloor temple

[TamilNet, Friday, 29 August 2008, 09:48 GMT]
More than fifteen devotees among the many thousands attending the annual Nalloor Kanthasuvami Koayil Thear (car) festival Friday morning sustained injuries when a flaming torch held in front of the car, during its passage around the temple, tripped down, sources in Jaffna said. The injured devotees are admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital.



Except for this accident the Charriot festival was conducted with thousands of devotees accompanying it being drawn with Nalloor Murukan seated on the flower decked car around the temple.

Though the crowd of devotees was comparatively less than the previous years during the Cease Fire Agreement period, people kept coming from 6:00 a.m until noon.

The SLA-imposed night curfew was lifted Thursday night and soldiers and policemen were seen posted near the main entrances to the temple on Point Pedro road and Nalloor Temple road.

Theertham (Water cutting) and Poongkaavanam ceremonies are to be held on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The annual festivals during the five years after the MoU were held in a grand scale turning Jaffna into a spiritual town with thousands attending. Later, the festival was subdued due to the unsettled security situation and the heavily policed curfew prevailing in the peninsula.





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