A large number of devotees from Puducherry and neighbouring districts thronged the Vaithikuppam coast on Thursday to offer worship on the occasion of ‘Masi Magam.’
‘Utsava’ deities from nearly 100 temples in Puducherry and neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu were brought to Vaithikuppam for the annual ‘Theerthavari’ ceremony.
Deities from temples such as Sri Sivasubramania Swami (Mailam), Sri Poyyamozhi Vinayakar (Theevanur) and Sri Aranganatha Swami (Gingee) arrived in Puducherry on Wednesday to take part in the festivities which started at 7 a.m. on Thursday.
The idols were taken in a procession through the main thoroughfares for special ‘pooja’ and ‘aradhana’ after ‘theerthavari’ on the shore. Devotees took a dip in the sea and paid obeisance to their forefathers by offering ‘tharpanam.’
The police had made elaborate security arrangements for the festival. Barricades were erected along the shore.
Police personnel also monitored the crowd with the help of binoculars and Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) from the control room.
The government had declared a local holiday for schools in the Puducherry and Karaikal regions.
