Thrissur: Security will be tightened for the Thrissur Pooram in view of the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the Easter day and the terrorists’ threat to attack targets in South India.
The public will not be allowed to take carry bags to the site of the Pooram to be held on May 13. The police will take other precautions too to avoid any untoward incidents, said Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the Pooram at the collectorate here on Saturday. Collector T.V. Anupama and city police commissioner Yathish Chandra also attended the meeting.
Regarding the issue of use of palm leaf chain cracker and the conduct of fireworks, the meeting decided to follow the PESO guidelines. The PESO officials in the regional office at Sivakasi had declined permission for the chain cracker citing a Supreme Court order in connection with festivals. The Pooram organising committee had sought permission from the Chief Controller of Explosives at the head office of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) at Nagpur last week.
The functionaries of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu devaswoms, who conduct the fireworks display said at the meeting that they had moved the Supreme Court over the matter and that the court was expected to take up the matter on Monday.
The decision to lift the ban on ‘star elephant’ Thechikottukavu Ramachandran who had killed two persons during private celebrations at Kottappadi, Guruvayur, in February was not discussed in the meeting, Mr Sunil Kumar said.
Kerala Elephant Owners Federation functionary P. Sasikumar said that as the forest secretary was on election duty in Delhi, the forest department would issue an order to lift the ban on Ramachandran only after his return to Kerala.
Sasikumar also said that the ban on Dr P.B. Giridasan, veterinary doctor treating elephants in Thrissur, from issuing fitness certificates for parading captive elephants had been lifted. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (forest management) had asked the director of animal husbandry department on Saturday to keep the earlier direction issued by PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden on May 2 in abeyance and conduct a detailed inquiry into the complaints against the veterinarian.
