Onam is almost washed away by Kerala floods
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 24 : Onam, Kerala's most important festival, will see subdued celebrations on Saturday in the state and whereever Keralities live due to the terrible misery heaped by the worst floods in nearly a century.
With the Kerala government cancelling the official Onam festivities, ostentatious celebrations are ruled out.
Reports of cancellation of Onam events by Kerala expatriates are pouring in from the Middle East and other countries.
This is probably the first time the government has axed the Onam celebrations. The Rs 30 crore earmarked for state-sponsored festivities has been diverted for relief work.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who was overseeing the Onam festivities, said: "This tragedy has damaged our state immensely. Lakhs continue to suffer. Many people have lost their life-long savings... So Onam celebrations organised by the state are out of question."
Sarala Devi, a retired government official near Thiruvalla, one of the worst-hit areas, said she was sure no one would be in a mood to go for Onam celebrations this year.
"One has been witnessing on TV the huge loss of lives and destruction caused by the floods. I doubt if anyone will be able to enjoy the traditional sumptuous Onam 'sadya' (lunch) after all this," she said.
The 26-dish Onam 'sadya' is normally served in every Kerala household on the three days Onam is celebrated.
Flower sellers on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border say their business has been hit hard.
"Even in Thiruvananthapuram, which has not been much affected by floods, people are not coming to buy flowers," a retailer said.
At best, those who escaped the flood fury -- which has claimed some 370 lives, displaced hundreds of thousands and caused unprecedented destruction -- may mark Onam in their homes but on a subdued scale.
Amid the gloom, volunteers are trying to cheer up the survivors. Those managing the 3,000 relief camps plan to serve at least a decent Onam lunch to nearly one million persons lodged in the camps.
"Onam provides a sense of unity as everyone celebrates the festival. However, this time too there is 'unity' but it is about people coming out in huge numbers to help those affected by floods," Cardinal Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, head of the city-headquartered Syro Malankara Catholic Church, told IANS.
Onam celebrations normally start on 'Atham' day, 10 days before 'Thiruonam' (which falls on August 25). This year, on that day, Kerala was grappling with torrential rains and extensive flooding.
The harvest festival sees three important days - the first Onam falls on Friday (today), followed by Thiruonam on Saturday and the third on Sunday.
According to legend, Kerala witnessed its golden period during the reign of King Mahabali. Onam is celebrated to mark King Mahabali's annual visit to see his subjects.
"I am 93... I cannot recall any year when the Onam festivities were called off. I also cannot recall any tragedy of this magnitude ever hitting Kerala," a retired teacher told IANS.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Explosion near CRPF School in Delhi caused by lit cigarette butts: Report
New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.
The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.
The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.
The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.
The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.
An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.
