Chithirai festival begins with holy flag-hoisting at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple
Priests performed special pujas and deeparadhan for the deities.
Musical instruments were played at the temple bedecked with colourful lights. The lights and colourful paintings at the temple transformed the entire shrine into the festival mode.
Collector M.S. Sangeetha, Mayor V. Indrani Ponvasanth, Corporation Commissioner Chitra Vijayan, Commissioner of Police J. Loganathan, temple Fit Person Rukmini Palanivel Rajan and devotees were present at the event.
Security was beefed up as police officers checked the bag storage area and mobile phone lockers. Mobile phones were not allowed inside the temple complex following the ruling by Madurai Bench of Madras High Court after a fire at the temple's eastern wing.
The procession of deities on Chithirai Streets took place in the evening. The temple administration began booking tickets for the celestial wedding both online and at Birla Vishram near the temple.
As photographers and videographers were not allowed for the coverage of the flag-hoisting event, a senior temple official said that to avoid disturbance to VIPs and top officials, the media persons were denied entry for the event.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
The poaching case busted by Forest Department handed over to police for further investigation
Thirteen days after the Forest Department busted a deer poaching case and arrested a 31-year-old private vehicle driver, hunting spotted deer in Bannerghatta and Kolar forest area for meat, the Forest Department officials on Saturday approached the jurisdictional Bannerghatta police seeking help to probe further. The Forest Department officials will continue probing the case under Wildlife Act, but they have no provision to probe the case under Arms Act, to ascertain the source of weapons. Meanwhile, the accused who has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody is out on bail. The forest officials on June 29 caught Pratap and seized two cars on Bannerghatta-NICE Road junction, a bike, two guns, and large quantities of deer meat. While Pratap was arrested on the spot, three of his associates managed to escape and efforts are on to track them now . The raid was carried out on the directions of Forest Minister Ishwar Khandre, that a gang was illegally hunting deer in the forests of Kolar and Bannerghatta and selling the meat. Inside, officials discovered the carcasses of four spotted deer and one wild boar. The officials based on his information raided a godown in C.K. Palya where he had stored more meat. A raid on the shed uncovered additional deer carcasses and meat, along with a bike, another car, one double-barrel and one single-barrel gun, 10 live cartridges, and a total haul of nine deer, one wild boar, and 74 kg of meat, the official said. The shed owner, Bheemappa, along with associates Balaraju and Ramesh, are currently absconding. A case has been filed under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act. The officials have now handed over the seized weapons to the Police along with the complaint since the forest officials do not have provision to probe under Arms Act. The accused was reportedly using foreign made weapon and the probe will be on ascertain the source of weapon, a police officer said. Since the accused is presently out on bail, efforts are on to summon him again for questioning.
India Gazette
3 hours ago
- India Gazette
"Fell unconscious...," says woman run over by car in Delhi
New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Thirty-five-year-old Narayani, who was among the five people hospitalised with injuries after being run over by a speeding car in the national capital earlier this week, said she fell unconscious after the horrific incident. 'The car ran over us... Me, my husband and children got injured. I got unconscious after being run over and sustained injuries on the chest and neck... We have been sleeping here (on the footpath) for many years...' she told ANI. Another victim, Ramchander (45), detailed that all five of them were sleeping on a footpath in the Vasant Vihar area when the car, allegedly driven by a drunk driver, ran over them on June 9. 'We were sleeping when the car hit us at around 1 AM... Two people were injured, but then my wife's ear was also injured, and her rib was broken... The police took us to the hospital... There should be action against the driver...' he said. Delhi Police have released a photo of the accused driver, Utsav Shekhar, who was allegedly behind the wheel at the time of the accident. The man has been arrested, Police said. The incident took place on Wednesday, at around 01:45 am when an Audi car on its way from Noida crushed people sleeping on the footpath near the Indian Oil Petrol Pump, in front of Shiva Camp, Vasant Vihar. Delhi Police said, 'On dated 09.07.2025 at 01:45 AM, a PCR call vide DD No.3A regarding accident near Indian Petrol Pump, infront of Shiva Camp, Vasant Vihar was received at PS Vasant Vihar. On reaching the spot, it came to notice that injured persons have been shifted to hospitals. All were sleeping on footpath.' The victims have been identified as Ladhi (age 40 years), Bimla (age 8 years), Sabami (age 45 years), Narayani (age 35 years), and Ramchander (age 45 years), all of whom are from Rajasthan. Police said that the driver of the Audi vehicle, named Utsav Shekhar, age 40, is a resident of Dwarka and deals in property-related work. He was returning home from Noida when the accident happened near the Indian Oil Petrol Pump, Vasant Vihar. Police said, 'Statements of eyewitnesses were recorded, wherein they stated that a white colour Audi Car ran over the above-mentioned persons while they were sleeping on the footpath. The driver of the offending vehicle, namely Utsav Shekhar resident of Dwarka, age 40 yrs, was apprehended and legal action taken.' The driver was allegedly drunk and had also hit a truck after the accident when the police caught him. Legal action against him has been taken, said Delhi police. (ANI)
India.com
4 hours ago
- India.com
New twist in Radhika Yadav murder case as best friend of tennis star reveals shocking truth
New Delhi: Radhika Yadav, the 25-year-old state-level tennis player, was brutally shot dead by her father, Deepak Yadav at the family's double-storey home in the upscale Sushant Lok area of Gurugram on Thursday, July 10. Deepak Yadav confessed to killing his daughter and was arrested. Incidentally, July 10 was the birthday of Radhika's mother and she was preparing a birthday dinner for her mother when she was allegedly shot dead by her father. Was it a case of Love Jihad? Radhika Yadav had appeared in a music video last year alongside an independent artist, and this may have caused tensions within her household. Authorities confirmed that this aspect will also be part of the ongoing investigation, reported news agency PTI, citing police officials. There were murmurs of a 'Love Jihad' involvement too. However, the Police have confirmed that they are not pursuing any communal or interfaith angles in their investigation. One of her friends also dismissed the Love Jihad claim in a video. Who is Himaanshika Singh Rajput? Amidst the melee, Himaanshika Singh Rajput, who claims to be Radhika's best friend and a tennis player herself, has accused Deepak Yadav, Radhika's father, of 'controlling' every aspect of her life. Himaanshika Singh Rajput has posted a video on Instagram in which she has said that 'her best friend Radhika was murdered by her own father who shot her five times. He had made life miserable for Radhika for many years with his dominating and controlling demeanour. He would also continuously criticise her to lower her self-esteem and pride. He would listen to so-called friends who were jealous of her success.' What did Himaanshika say on communal motive? As rumours circulated suggesting a communal motive behind the killing, Himaanshi categorically rejected the speculation. 'People are talking about love jihad, but where is the evidence? She didn't speak to many people. She was isolated. Her home was not a place of freedom.' Himanshika said that they had been friends for about 11-12 years and would share everything with each other. 'She worked very hard to reach the status which she reached by her own merit and then also built her own tennis academy. Everything was going smoothly and she was very happy at the professional front but her personal life was full of misery as her family and few other people could not bear to digest her success and independence. Her father in particular was very harsh on her and would shame her for wearing shorts, talking to boys, for living an independent,' says Himaanshi in the video. Watch The Video Here Police say five bullets were fired at Radhika out of which three hit her in the back and one in the shoulder. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but died of her injuries.
