Kancheepuram District Collector P. Ponniah on Thursday announced that there will be no darshan of Athi Varadar at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple on August 17, Saturday, the day the idol will be placed back in its vault inside the Ananthasaras tank.
Addressing a press meet at Kancheepuram, he said August 16 would be the last day when people would be allowed to have darshan . “We will allow darshan till late night and even till early morning of August 17,” he said.
The decision to end the darshan on Friday was taken after consultation with the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department and the archakas of the temple. “They have some rituals to complete before the idol can be placed in the vault,” he said.
Till now, over 70 lakh devotees have visited the temple, with their numbers surging by the day. The HR&CE Department and the district administration had initially estimated that around 20-25 lakh devotees would visit the temple during the festival, that began on July 1. The hundials of the temple have received over ₹5 crore from the devotees.
The district administration plans to add more parking points and allow devotees to stay near their vehicles, from where they will be taken to the temple in batches. More buses are being pressed into service for this purpose, the collector said.
SSI dies
Meanwhile Velliangiri, a SSI from Coimbatore, who was deployed on special duty for the Athi Varadar festival died while he was taking rest after duty.