 "Photo: Official Website of Thrissur Pooram Festival")
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday has banned use of high-decibel crackers and display of fireworks from sunset to sunrise, which in effect stopped the sample fireworks and the actual firework display traditionally held between the sunset and sunrise in the Thrissur temple.
The district collector has today ordered stringent measures related to Thrissur Pooram, including that the control of cracker storage room will be with the district administration and the materials used in this storage will be weighed and registered. The administration also gave clear instruction on the distance from the display ground to the place, where audience should be allowed, according to local reports.
The administration also asked not to bring out the elephants for processions between 10 am to 5 pm and specified the distance between two elephants when they stand in a row during the festival, it added.
The two Dewaswoms which take part in the Pooram, Paramekkavu and Tiruvambadi, has earlier said that if there are stringent restrictions in terms of participating elephants in the festival and firework display, they will go for the Pooram with a single elephant and just complete the rituals rather than the audio and visual treat that it usually demonstrates during the Pooram festival.
The Thrissur Pooram according to the organisers, is a grand assembly of Gods and Goddesses in and around Thrissur. These Gods and Goddesses make their visit to the Vadakumnathan Temple premises on caparisoned elephants accompanied by grand ensembles of various regional instruments. The 36 hour long pooram follow strict time schedule and prescribed route to pay obeisance to Lord Vadakumnathan. More than 50 elephants use to take part in the Pooram every year.
