Thevar jayanthi: statue garlanded, meetings held in Madurai

Followers of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar celebrating 'guru puja' in front of the statue of the leader at Goripalayam, in the Madurai. Photo: S. James

The 107th Thevar jayanthi celebration was marked by people carrying ‘jothis’ and organising public meetings in the city on Thursday.

Large number of political party functionaries from parties including the AIADMK, DMK, MDMK, Congress, BJP, AIFB among others garlanded the Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at Goripalayam.

From as early as 8 a.m., crowd started pouring in from different directions. Women carrying (sprouts) ‘mulaipari’ walked towards Goripalayam and were allowed till noon by the police.

Perhaps for the first time, normal vehicular movement around the Goripalayam junction was not diverted. Though there were long queues at the intersection, police ensured there were no untoward incidents.

Inspector General and Commissioner of Police Sanjay Mathur, DCP (law and order) Samant Rohan Rajendran and team of officers were on the move. Apart from mobile patrol teams, officers in the rank of ACPs and Inspectors conducted random checks on youths who took “jolly ride” on their bikes.

As many as 50 two-wheelers were impounded till evening and released with a fine as per the Motor Vehicles Act.

Barricades

But for a few petty incidents, the Thevar Jayanthi passed off peacefully in the city. As it is customary for the crowd to throng Goripalayam to pay tributes to the late leader Muthuramalinga Thevar, the traffic police had put up barricades in such a way that people could use one way for entry to the statue and another for exit. By doing so, there was no crowding at any point. Around 11 a.m., the crowd was at its peak, but the presence of a large contingent of police ensured effective management.

Apart from this, the prohibitory order and ban to take out procession on two-wheelers facilitated effective maintenance of law and order, police said and added that many educational institutions functioned as usual. However, shops and establishments in main thoroughfares had downed shutters as a precautionary measure from morning till late evening. The closure of TASMAC liquor outlets since Monday came in handy as public nuisance was curtailed to a great extent.

Public meeting

Different factions of All India Forward Bloc functionaries conducted public meetings at Anna Nagar, Thilagar Thidal, Pethaniapuram and at Jhansi Rani Park. As many as 393 vehicles had passed through check posts bordering Madurai district towards Pasumpon to offer tributes at the Thevar memorial. The police checked the vehicles for the documents, and in the event of lapses, the vehicles were detained.