Madurai, The annual Chithirai festival celebrations have commenced at the world renowned Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai and will go on till 16 April.
The Madurai district administration has enhanced safety measures especially near the check dams in Vaigai river where Lord Kallazhagar enters, to prevent any eventuality, and also take efforts to ease traffic movements during the course of the Chithirai festival.
Temple Fit Person Karumuttu T Kannan and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Joint Commissioner K Chelladurai, elaborated arrangements had been made for the celebrations.
The celebrations started with the hoisting of the holy flag today. The presiding deities, Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, would be taken on Masi, Chithirai and other streets around the temple during the festival days in the morning and evening in different mounts.
The annual Chithirai Festival in Madurai has been sustaining its reputation as the āfestival of festivalsā.
According to statistics, more than 5 lakh people from all over Tamilnadu (mostly from southern districts) visit Madurai for this festival, which cannot be reduced to a mere Saiva-Vaishnava festival. Madurai is hailed as the cultural capital of the State.