No fireworks at Thrissur Pooram this year

THe Thrissur Pooram this yr, scheduled on sun, testament be held without fireworks and by significantly grading shoot down the ‘kudamattam’ (exchange of parasols) ceremony following the explosion at a fireworks unit in Mundathikode that killed 10 people, officials said on Thursday.The decision was taken at a meeting attended by government representatives including Devaswom minister VN Vasavan, Union minister of state and Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi and representatives of the two temple devaswoms of Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady.The move to scale down the festivities is aimed at respecting public sentiments and chiefly those of the families of the 10 persons who were killed while assembling explosives for the ‘sample vedikettu’ (fireworks display) of the Thrissur Pooram. At least 12 people, who are gravely injured, are undergoing treatment in hospitals while three others are still missing.“All the essential rituals of the Pooram including the ‘Ilanjithara melam’ (percussion ensemble) will be conducted. The ‘kudamattam’ will be held briefly for a few minutes as a symbolic gesture. There will be no display of fireworks,” said secretary of the Paramekkavu Devaswom, G Rajesh.A single ‘kathina’ (cracker) will be burst as part of the Pooram rituals, he added.The secretary of the Thiruvambady devaswom, Gireesh Kumar, echoed the same sentiments and added that the festivities this year will not have the usual “celebratory” tone.The Thrissur Pooram, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year, involves various temple rituals on the grounds of the Vadakkumnathan temple in the heart of the city. The festival sees caparisoned elephants from various temples in and around Thrissur marching to the Vadakkumnathan temple. At the temple grounds, elaborate percussion ensembles take place, followed by a display of colourful parasols in the evening.Massive police search for body parts continuesA massive search for body parts of those who died in the explosion by dozens of police officers across the paddy fields surrounding the site of explosion continued on Thursday.As part of the search efforts, an officer said that a charred human head, devoid of an ear, was found by the bushes, around 300 metres away from the site of the blast. The remains will have to be subjected to a DNA examination to identify the deceased, the officer added.Till Thursday, over 32 body parts were retrieved by volunteers and police officers from in and around the site of the explosion in Mundathikode. DNA examinations of the body parts began on Wednesday and results are expected in the next 2-3 days.The official death toll in the disaster stood at 10. At least 12 others are under treatment in various hospitals.