Leader of the Opposition R. Siva, of the DMK, has urged Chief Minister N. Rangasamy to declare a local holiday in connection with the car festival of the Thirukameeswarar temple at Villianur, which falls on June 1.
In a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr. Siva said the festival had not been held for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s car festival was expected to attract tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of Puducherry.
Therefore, a local holiday should be declared for government offices, schools and colleges in the Villianur commune area. A special bus should be operated to Villianur by the PRTC and more police personnel should be deployed for crowd management, Mr. Siva said.
He also wanted the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to set up more drinking water pavilions at the junctions in Villianur, taking into account the searing summer heat.