Thousands participate in car fest of Samayapuram Mariamman Temple

TIRUCHY: Tens of thousands of devotees thronged Samayapuram Sri Mariamman Temple to participate in the ‘Chithirai car festival’ conducted on Tuesday. The processional deity of Sri Mariamman was taken in a procession on the temple car through the major streets around the temple amidst devotees performing Kaavadiyattam and carrying fire pots.

The Chithirai car festival in Samayapuram Mariamman Temple is conducted on the first Tuesday of Tamil month of Chithirai annually and devotees used to undertake 28 days of fasting by having just water. As the car festival is the major event of the temple, devotees turned up in large numbers and all the streets in Samayapuram were packed. Several devotees on padayatra arrived at the temple a day ahead of the grand annual festival. Many such devotees came carrying fire pots and kavadis. On Tuesday,the processional deity of Goddess Mariamman was placed on the decorated wooden temple car, which was pulled by devotees around 11 am. The car after completing its procession returned to its base around 3.30 pm after special poojas and deeparadhana. A heavy posse of police was deployed in and around Samayapuram to regulate the crowd.

10-year-old boy dies

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old-boy identified as M Periyasamy, son of Muthaiyyan, a resident of Thuraiyur, who came to see the car festival with his parents, fell into the temple tank which is around 25-foot deep. Soon, onlookers raised an alarm. Fire and Rescue Services personnel, who were on duty, pulled the boy out and rushed him to the GH. However, doctors declared him ‘brought dead.’ Samayapuram police have registered a case and are investigating.