Kerala Attukal pongala: Water-logging near Attukal temple poses problems for devotees

Devotees who have for years been offering Pongala on the large open area near the Attukal Bhagavathy temple in the Kerala capital were in for a rude shock when they arrived on Monday, a day before the Pongala. The area was waterlogged and muddy, making it difficult for devotees to set up their hearths. Most of them were forced to look for better locations further away from the temple to set up hearths. But on Tuesday, as the crowd of devotees swelled, many of them chose to set up their hearths on the few dry spots amid the water-logged areas.

As they went ahead with the Pongala preparations, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation authorities did not factor in rains, which are uncommon in these parts during this time of the year. The unseasonal rains that had hit the capital city caught the Corporation authorities unawares. Even so, the civic body had three days to prepare the ground for the festival. But even on Tuesday morning, the day of the festival, the situation had not changed, as the ground remained muddy.

Devotees offering Pongala near the water-logged area on the Attukal Temple premises
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special arrangement

“I have been offering Pongala for over a decade. Though things were not always perfect in localities away from the temple premises, this is the first time I am seeing the area near the temple in such a state. The authorities could have taken some efforts to fill up the water-logged areas with sand so that devotees could use the ground too,” says Ambika, a devotee from Attingal.