A committee led by Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Commissioner Vinay inspected preparations for the Tiruvannamalai Deepam festival on October 28, following a Madras High Court order to review arrangements and submit a report. More than 3.5 million devotees are expected to attend the festival at the Arunachaleswarar Temple and surrounding areas.
The festival is scheduled to begin on November 15, with the Mahadeepam due to be lit at the summit of the hill on November 24. The expected turnout has placed crowd movement, access control and safety arrangements at the centre of the preparations.
The high-level committee was constituted after the High Court directed that festival arrangements be examined and documented. The inspection was undertaken at the Arunachaleswarar Temple by the committee headed by Vinay, according to a report by Dinamalar. The report did not specify the date of the court order or the deadline for submitting the committee’s findings.
During the inspection, officials examined the routes through which devotees would be permitted to enter and leave. They also reviewed the area opposite the flagstaff, including the surrounding courtyard, as part of the preparations for managing the large number of visitors expected during the festival.
The committee also considered how many devotees could be permitted to travel up the hill for the lighting of the Mahadeepam. The inspection included a review of the safety facilities that would need to be provided for those allowed to access the hill. The report did not provide a final capacity figure or details of the safety measures proposed.
The review brings the festival’s crowd-management challenge into focus. The arrangements will have to account for both the movement of devotees through the temple premises and the more restricted access required for the hilltop event. The inspection of separate entry and exit routes indicates that the committee is examining how visitors will be directed through the site during the festival period.
The expected attendance of more than 3.5 million devotees makes the festival a major temporary demand on access and safety systems in Tiruvannamalai. The High Court-directed review is intended to assess the preparations before the celebrations begin, while the committee’s report is expected to record its findings on crowd access, hill capacity and safety facilities.
The next formal milestone is the submission of the committee’s report to the Madras High Court. The festival is scheduled to commence on November 15, followed by the lighting of the Mahadeepam at the hill summit on November 24.
