The festival at Mangaladevi Temple was celebrated on Chithra Pournami Day on Tuesday.
According to Forest department officials, 15,534 pilgrims trekked to the hill temple. The district administrations of Idukki in Kerala and Theni in Tamil Nadu had made arrangements for the festival. The temple opened at 5 a.m. Two priests from Kerala and Tamil Nadu conducted pujas in Tamil and Malayalam. According to officials, Ganapathi homam, Prasanna puja, and Uchcha puja were held on the Kerala side, and Valliayakavu temple Melsanthi Vasudevan Namboothir led the pujas. Tamil style pujas were held in the next Sreekovil.
Security arrangements
According to officials, Idukki Subcollector Arun S. Nair led the revenue team to review the security arrangements before the temple’s opening for pilgrims. Idukki Additional District Magistrate (ADM) B. Jyothi and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prasanth, among others, visited the temple.
According to officials, over 100 revenue officials were deputed for the festival. Idukki District Police Chief T.K. Vishnu Pradeep led 300 police personnel deployed for the security arrangements. The Forest department deployed over 300 officials at Onnamgate, Kookarakandam, Karadikkavala, Onnampalam, Randam Valavu, Yucali Valavu, Brandy Para, Mangaladevi temple, and Mangaladevi lower areas of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR). A 25 member medical team, including 11 doctors, was deployed in the festival area.
The temple, which is believed to have been built over a thousand years ago, opens only once a year on Chitrapournami. Travel to the temple from Kumily, a 15-km stretch through the Periyar Tiger Reserve, was arranged on jeeps and taxis.
