The Puttingal Devi temple of Paravur in Kerala’s Kollam district, where a gruesome fire tragedy during a fireworks show on April 10 had killed 107 people and injured several hundred others, was reopened for daily rituals at 4.30 am Sunday after a gap of a week.
The shrine was opened for the devotees to have Darshan after special purification rituals like Punyaham and Suddhikalasam were performed by Unnikrishnan Namboothiri, Tantri (traditional chief priest) of the temple. Though most of the structures built in reinforced concrete in the courtyard were destroyed or damaged in the explosion, the sanctum sanctorum had not suffered any damage at all.
Though there was an opinion that the temple should be reopened only after 16 days from the tragedy, the decision to open it on Sunday itself was taken as astrological examinations favoured this. However, the temple will have only the minimum daily Poojas for many more days. Scores of devotees had arrived at the temple on Sunday morning to offer worship.
The shrine was opened in the absence of the office-bearers and members of its administrative committee as they were either in remand or hiding as all the 15 of them were accused in the case pertaining to the fireworks accident. The police have taken three more persons into custody taking the total number of persons held in connection with the accident up to 17.
Those arrested on Saturday night were the workers of Krishnankutty of Varkala, contractor for one of the two teams which had held the competitive fireworks show at the temple on the night of April 9-10. Krishnankutty has been in hiding since the incident and the police suspect that his wife Anarkali, holder of the fireworks licence, might have left the State.