Anticipating a massive turnout of people to pay their last respects to the late Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the police have put in place elaborate security, crowd management and traffic plan for Kottayam on Thursday.
According to officials, as many as 2,000 police officers will be deployed on crowd management duties at the Thirunakkara ground in Kottayam Town and at Puthuppally where the mortal remains of the late leader will be put on public display in the morning. A queue system will be implemented for the public to pay their tributes to the leader and no person will be permitted to spend time within the ground beyond a particular limit.
The arrangements at the main venue are being carried out by the District Congress Committee in association with the police and the Kottayam district administration. The funeral cortege carrying the leader’s coffin, which departed Thiruvananthapuram early on Wednesday, was accorded receptions at several locations along the Main Central Road throughout the day and was expected to reach Kottayam only in the early hours of Thursday.
Adequate number of personnel will be deployed at the leader’s house at Puthuppally where his funeral services will be performed, as well as at the St. George Orthodox church where he will be laid to rest. Vehicular traffic to and from Puthuppally will be regulated from 6 a.m. and vehicles will be re-routed via parallel roads.
Meanwhile, all commercial establishments within the Puthuppally Assembly constituency, the seat represented by the late leader for a record 53 years, will remain closed during the day.
Following the public display at Thirunakkara, the mortal remains will be brought to his partially-built home on a one-acre property at Puthuppally after being kept for some time at his ancestral house –Karottu Vallakkalil. Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, supreme head of the Orthodox Church, will lead the funeral services, while all metropolitans under the church will be present.
Special tomb
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, along with other senior leaders of the party, will be attending the funeral at Puthuppally. Chandy’s family, meanwhile, has formally conveyed to the State government the late leader’s wish for being cremated without the State honours.
At the parish, he will be laid to rest at a specially-constructed tomb outside the cemetery designated for the late leader’s family. Orthodox Church sources said Chandy was being accorded a special place for burial in recognition of his personal stature as a leader of the masses and his contributions to the society. The specially-built crypt will come up at a location close to the cemetery where priests are buried.
Holiday
In view of the traffic regulations imposed to facilitate the funeral, Kottayam District Collector has announced a holiday for schools in the district on Thursday.
