Deal sternly with bid to desecrate Azhagar procession: HC

Madurai: Observing that Chithirai festival is not merely a temple event but a living embodiment of Tamil heritage rooted in Sangam culture and nourished through centuries, Madras high court on Wednesday said any attempt to desecrate or disrupt the sanctity of Lord Kallazhagar's procession shall be dealt with sternly and without hesitation.Justice L Victoria Gowri directed Madurai city police to deploy 15 to 20 striking force vehicles along the 7.6-kilometre city route of Kallazhagar's procession, and at least 10 in the Vaigai riverbed area. Police in watchtowers shall remain on highest alert and continuously monitor vulnerable spots with drone surveillance. Any person found indulging in throwing slippers or any similar disruptive act against the procession or devotees shall be immediately apprehended and proceeded against in accordance with law, she said, adding that appropriate remand proceedings shall be initiated forthwith. Preventive and intelligence-based policing shall be intensified throughout the festival period.The court was hearing the petition filed by P Sundaravadivel seeking a direction to the authorities to take preventive actions against miscreants throwing slippers on devotees during Kallazhagar's ceremonial procession and while entering Vaigai river. The state submitted that nearly five lakh devotees are expected. As many as 244 CCTV cameras have been installed, 169 focus lights are arranged in the riverbed, 54 watchtowers are erected, drone surveillance is activated and extensive police deployment made. As many as 32 people have already been detained as preventive measures. The state assures peaceful conduct of the procession.Justice Victoria Gowri observed that Chithirai festival is a civilisational continuum, which in its present form, represents the confluence of Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple traditions and Kallazhagar temple traditions, symbolically uniting Shaivite and Vaishnavite streams in a singular expression of devotional harmony. The petition touches upon the preservation of civilisational memory, protection of religious freedom, and safeguarding the sanctity of a living cultural tradition that has endured through centuries. The court cannot brush aside the seriousness of such acts as isolated disturbances."Throwing slippers upon devotees in a religious procession amounts to a grave affront to public decency, religious harmony and social fraternity and must be dealt with, to borrow a phrase apt to the occasion, with an iron hand," the judge observed. The court was shown a video evidencing recurrence of such acts, hence the assurance of deployment alone cannot suffice unless accompanied by visible and immediate deterrent mechanisms, the judge said.