People defy restrictions to perform Amavasya rituals

The district administration had banned congregation of devotees in water bodies to perform the rituals on this day as part of the COVID-19 precautionary measure. It was also ordered that halls near temples should not rent out the premises for such large congregations. Though the rituals were prohibited, it was announced that temples would remain open for devotees.Despite restrictions, huge crowds descended at Perur ‘padithurai’ to perform rituals for the ancestors and offer prayers at the Perur Patteeswarar Temple. There was also a huge crowd at the Karamadai Aranganatha Swamy Temple and Thekkampatti Vanabadrakaliamman Temple in Coimbatore district.All ways to Cauvery and Bhavani rivers were barricaded and deployed with heavy police personnel to prevent the entry of people. The devotees, however, offered their prayers at the Sangameshwarar temple by following the COVID-19 protocol. The sacred ‘Agni Theertham’ in the holy Island of Rameswaram, where lakhs of devotees used to take a holy dip before performing tarpanam rituals, wore a deserted look.

Though the devotees were allowed to offer worship at the renowned Sri Ramanatha Swamy Temple, devotees were barred from taking holy dip in Agni Theertham.

Similar was the scene on the Cauvery banks at Amma Mandapam in Srirangam and at the confluence of three seas Kanniyakumari, which are both important places for this ritual.

However, many places on Cauvery banks in Kumbakonam turned into ‘sudden’ sites for this ritual. In Mayiladuthuraim, hundreds of people ignoring the restrictions, performed rituals for their ancestors Similarly, the gathering of people was banned at sacred places like Dhanushkodi, Muhuntharayarchatram, Sethukarai and Devipattinam in Ramanathapuram.