Kollam: Two days after the fire at the temple in Kollam, seven
temple officials, who surrendered, have been arrested. The police have charged
them with attempted murder.
The
fire began during a lengthy fireworks display early on Sunday morning at the
temple, about 70 kilometres from the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy and local officials have said that temple officials had
been denied permission for the fireworks display but went ahead anyway. The
fireworks that were involved were made locally by amateurs, with safety checks
compromised and illegal chemicals used, said explosives experts.
The
Kerala High Court will today decide whether to ban firework displays at all
temples. That request has been made by a serving judge. Not far from the temple
where the tragedy occurred, three cars were found abandoned on Monday, packed
with sacks full of explosives. City Police Commissioner P. Prakash said the
cars, found parked near the temple, came to the notice of the local people late
on Sunday. They alerted the police. On Monday morning, the police cordoned off
the area and examined the cars, which were found packed with explosives, some
of which were of high intensity.
Local
police officials said the explosives will be defused today after the court
hearing.
The
Puttingal temple was built on the site of an ant hill where locals believe a
goddess appeared centuries ago. The festival of this temple is on the ‘Bharani’
star of Malayalam month ‘Meenam’ (March-April, according to Georgian calendar).
Fireworks (‘Matsara Kambam’) and other events associated with the festival (‘Aswathi
vilakku’, ‘Kathakali’, ‘Kampadikali’, ‘Marameduppu’) take place along with
other cultural events.
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