As the Attukal Pongala festival, which brings together the biggest congregation of women for a religious event, begins, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that local residents shouldn’t face any traffic restrictions or other difficulties during the festivities. He urged the district administration to issue special ID cards for the residents in the locality. He spoke at a meeting convened to assess the preparations for the iconic annual festival. The Chief Minister stated that there should be no compromise regarding drinking water and food safety. The concerned authorities should conduct regular inspections to ensure the safety of food and water distributed in the festival area. More women police officers will be deployed for Pongala duties this year. In the initial phase, 120 women police personnel would be appointed, and it may go up to 1000 women police officers on the festival's main day.

Women fire and safety officials
For the first time in the history of the Pongala festival, women fire and safety officers would be deployed for the festival duty, reports Manorama Online. Ten medical teams coordinated by the health department would be additionally appointed on the Pongala day. Meanwhile, the service of paediatricians, too, would be available on the day of the Kuthiyottam ritual. A strict alcohol ban will be imposed in the area from 6 pm on March 12 to 6 pm on March 13. Besides, the special squads of the excise department and the Vimukti cell will be on duty 24 hours during the festival days. The Railways, too, noted that the preparations are progressing and would be completed as soon as possible.

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KSRTC services
Meanwhile, the KSRTC has scheduled 20 chain services connecting the temple to various places from East Fort. Minister VN Vasavan, who presided over the meeting, pointed out that the government was able to conduct the Mandala–Makaravilakku season at Sabarimala successfully due to the excellent teamwork of the officials. Minister GR Anil, Antony Raju MLA, Mayor Arya Rajendran, ADM Beena V Anand, police head S Darvesh Sahib and the officials from various departments attended the meeting.     

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