A festive mood gripped the city on Sunday (March 1, 2026), as the clock wound down to the Attukal Pongala festival on Tuesday (March 3).
Labelled as among the largest religious congregations of women in the country, thousands of families across Kerala and also neighbouring States are trickling into a six-km radius of the famed Attukal Devi Temple to offer a sacrament of rice and jaggery cooked on hastily assembled open hearths.
Customarily, residents and places of worship, including mosques and churches, open their doors to devotees to allow them to bivouac and prepare the sacrament.
Hundreds of devotees sleep rough on open ground prepared by residents’ associations. Many have reserved spaces in the festival area in advance to set up Pongala hearths. Business is brisk for vendors selling eathen pots, kindling and bricks for setting up open hearths. Several movie theatres have announced free screenings for devotees on Pongala eve.
High-decibel sound systems blaring out deafening music and decorative lighting have imbued several localities in the city with a festive mood. The police’s attempts to curb sound pollution have been an uphill task for enforcers.
The Fire and Rescue Services have identified fire risk locations in the festival areas and positioned firefighting equipment, including fire tenders, accordingly. The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, K. Karthick, reviewed the security and traffic arrangements for the event.
The police have announced a peak deployment of 5000 law enforcers, including women, on Pongala Day. They have chartered routes for the speedy movement of emergency services if demand arises.
The police would use CCTV networks, aerial drones, and watch towers as force multipliers. They have intensified patrolling and deployed plainclothes squads to prevent petty crime, such as necklace theft and purse snatching. The police have set up help desks for tracing missing persons, chiefly children parted from their parents in the festival rush.
The Health Department has deployed medical teams, including those moving on two-wheelers, and ambulances at 10 locations across the festival area. It has opened a Special Control Room within the temple precincts.
The government has opened emergency rooms equipped with beds across the festival area to treat heatstroke patients and burn victims, including at the Women and Children’s Hospital, Thycaud, and the Government Fort Hospital, as well as various schools and other institutions. It has also readied the General Hospital and the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram to admit mass casualties.
The Ayurveda and Homoeopathy Departments have also opened clinics and emergency rooms in the festival area.The Food Safety Department has insisted that only government-registered groups may serve food and beverages to devotees. Food safety inspectors will inspect community kitchens and distribution centres to ensure hygiene standards.
