Kerala - Kochi   

City gears up to celebrate Onam

Staff Reporter

Rush of shoppers results in traffic snarls on arterial roads

FESTIVE SPIRIT: The rain has played spoilsport this year with nearly eight days of continuous downpour. Sales are picking up with the rain subsiding on Sunday afternoon. Photo: H. Vibhu

KOCHI: With Onam festival just four days away, the city is in a festive mode. Illuminations on trees and buildings, families on outings, vendors doing brisk business and the echo of chendamelam from shops and cultural venues add to the atmosphere.

The Government has, for the first time, taken the initiative to illuminate the stretch from the High Court to the Fine Arts Hall and shops too have done their bit by lighting up their premises.

Various cultural programmes and competitions have are on at the Ernakulam Children's Park.

People from the suburbs are thronging the city to get a feel of the celebrations, shop and visit the numerous trade fairs here. The IRDP trade fair at the Siva Temple Grounds is drawing huge crowds.

Many of the electronic gadgets are up for grabs at a discount. Vendors selling garments and colourful Onakkodis have taken over the pavements on Shanmukham Road and areas near the Durbar Hall and MG Road.

Though the rain has put a damper on the festivities, shoppers are making a beeline for the Durbar Hall (DH) area, Shanmukham Road, Bannerjee Road, MG Road and Broadway.

Cultural programmes sponsored by the District Tourism Promotion Council and the District Administration will be held at the DH ground, Fine Arts Hall, Marine Drive grounds and Children's Park from Tuesday.

Traffic snarls

Heavy rush of shoppers is resulting in traffic snarls on arterial roads, including the two main bottlenecks of Kochi — the railway overbridges at Ernakulam North and South. Serpentine queues of vehicles are seen near the two bridges throughout the day. This has increased air-pollution considerably.

City Police Commissioner P. Vijayan said that the stretch from the DH Road up to Jos Junction has been demarcated as a `no-parking' zone. "Vehicles found to violate the rule will be towed away. Vendors and shopkeepers who displayed their wares in a way affecting the movement of people and traffic are being removed. Despite the efforts of the police, potholes and garbage on the road and footpaths have been slowing down the movement of vehicles and pedestrians," he said.

As many as 200 more policemen have been deployed in the city. The strength of `City Shadows', policemen and policewomen who move around in mufti, too has been increased to check sexual harassment and pick pocketing, Mr. Vijayan said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

City gears up to celebrate Onam
Usha Uthup, crowd-puller as ever
Two films from Eastern Europe
Seven being grilled in bus-burning case
KLCA `dissatisfied' with seat allotment
Plea to provide basic amenities to residents
Baselius Thomas I for Damascus
Around the City
In Kochi Today
Two arrested

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu