Kerala mosque opens doors for 'Attukal Pongala' devotees
Thiruvananthapuram(PTI): In a show of communal harmony and brotherhood, the Manakkad Juma Masjid here opened its doors and provided facilities to the thousands of women who arrived in the state capital for the 'Attukal Pongala' on Thursday.
A mosque representative said the entire parking area was opened for those arriving in their vehicles and accommodations were arranged inside the mosque for the drivers.
"Besides that, separate toilets for women and drinking water facilities were also made available for the devotees. One of the rooms was also converted for use by the police personnel who would be on duty during the festival," the representative told a TV channel.
He also said that the mosque provides the facilities every year, which was attested to by the women devotees present there. He expressed regret that they could not provide food to the 'pongala' devotees in the morning due to the ongoing fasting during the Ramadan period.
"We provided food yesterday evening when we broke the fast for the day," he added.
The St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral here too provided water, rest and toilet facilities to the women devotees who arrived for the 'pongala'. It had done so last year as well.
Besides them, the parishioners of St Theresa of Lisieux Catholic Church at Vellayambalam here provided buttermilk to the 'pongala' devotees, a church official said.
Thousands of women of all ages who came to the state capital from Keral and beyond, some even from abroad, offered 'pongala' to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple on Thursday, braving the scorching sun.
Preparing 'pongala' is considered an auspicious all-women ritual as part of the annual festival of the Attukal temple here, popularly known as the 'Women's Sabarimala'.
As per local legend, the annual festival commemorates the hospitality accorded by women in the locality to Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic 'Silappadhikaram', after she destroyed Madurai city to avenge the execution of her husband Kovalan who was wrongly branded as a thief.
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Man launches attack with iron rod inside Golden Temple in Amritsar, injures 5
Amritsar, Mar 14 (PTI): A man wielding an iron rod went on an indiscriminate rampage on Friday here at Golden Temple, injuring two 'sewadars' and three devotees, police said.
The man was seen moving in the Guru Ramdas Niwas, also called Guru Ramdas Sarai, of the Golden Temple.
According to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Secretary Partap Singh, the man turned violent when asked about his antecedents and attacked the SGPC employees and the others.
Police said the man hailed from Haryana and was handed over to them by the SGPC after the incident.
The reason behind the attack is under investigation.
The three injured devotees had come to the temple from Mohali, Bathinda and Patiala, while the other two were 'sewadars' of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Partap Singh said.
One 'sewadar' and a devotee from Bathinda suffered severe head injuries.
The injured were rushed to Sri Guru Ramdas Hospital at Vallah in a critical condition.
Partap Singh said the attacker and an accomplice of his were apprehended and handed over to the police.
In his appeal to the government and law enforcement agencies, the SGPC Secretary called for no leniency in taking action against the perpetrators.
