JOIN USThrissur Pooram during Covid-19 surge snowballing to major row
Despite the grim Covid-19 scenario in Kerala with the test positivity rate (TPR) skyrocketing, the ruling left-front government is going ahead with the decision to conduct the Thrissur Pooram festival.
While the district health authorities have raised serious concerns over conducting the event at this stage, those associated with the festival alleged that the district health authorities were trying to sabotage the festival by creating a scare.
It seems that being a temple festival the left-front government is also taking decisions very cautiously with Health Minister K K Shailaja stating that Thrissur Pooram could not be called off at this stage.
Many known personalities have come out against conducting Thrissur Pooram amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. Writer N S Madhavan tweeted that 'superspreader gatherings like Thrissur Pooram' should be stopped as TPR reached a dangerously high rate of 17 per cent. "Government, don’t be Sabarimala-shy, act in people’s interest. Now," he tweeted. Writer Saradakutty also slammed the move to conduct the festival.
State chief secretary V P Joy will be holding a meeting of those associated with the festival to review the arrangements. Thrissur district is at present having around 5,550 Covid-19 active patients.
While the Thrissur Pooram at the Thekkinkadu ground premises of the Vadakkunnathan temple in Thrissur town will be on April 24, the temple festival began on Saturday with a flag hoisting ceremony. Social distancing norms were allegedly not followed during the ceremony. Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force secretary V K Venkitachalam had petitioned the district collector in this regard.
Already stringent norms like restricting entry only to those who had taken both doses of Covid vaccination and those having Covid negative test result of RTPCR have been prescribed.
RTPCR negative report is also made mandatory for mahouts of the elephants to take part in the Pooram. But the authorities are concerned whether the norms could be effectively enforced as the flag hoisting ceremony itself witnessed flouting of social distancing norms.
Paramekavu Devaswom Secretary G Rajesh alleged that impractical norms were being prescribed and the health authorities were creating a scare. This could be seen as an attempt to sabotage the festival that draws international attention.
There are allegations that the government was succumbing to pressure from elephants owners' lobbies and festival organisers' lobbies and hence the Pooram and other temple festivals are being allowed.