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Thousands of devotees offered prayers at the historic Mangala Devi temple, situated inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, during the annual Chitra Pournami festival on Friday.
The ancient temple, believed to be over 1,000 years old, is open to devotees only on the full moon day of the Chitra month every year and witnessed a heavy influx of pilgrims from both states, officials said.
The Idukki district administration said the festival was organised jointly by the governments of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Special rituals following both Kerala and Tamil Nadu temple traditions were conducted at the shrine.
“Temple doors were opened around 5.30 am, and ceremonial proceedings began thereafter. Kerala-style rituals were held at the sanctum housing the Mangala Devi deity and at adjacent shrines dedicated to Ganapathi and Shiva-Parvathi, while Tamil Nadu-style rituals were conducted at the second sanctum nearby,” officials said.
Officials said the temple complex also features a cave entrance believed to date back to the Chola period.
Authorities from Idukki and Theni districts jointly coordinated arrangements for the festival with support from the police, revenue, forest, excise, motor vehicles, health and fire services departments.
“Facilities including drinking water, food, toilets and directional signboards in Malayalam and Tamil were arranged for devotees. Medical teams, ambulances, disaster response personnel and fire force units were deployed at various points as part of the safety arrangements,” officials said.
Idukki District Collector Dr Dineshan Cheruvatt, District Police Chief Sabu Mathew K M, Sub-Collector Anoop Garg and other officials visited the temple and oversaw the arrangements.
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