Mananthavadi: Thousands of devotees paid respects to their departed souls on the banks of River Papanashini on the premises of the Maha Vishnu Temple, Tirunelli on Tuesday.
The jungle shrine located 40 kilometres off Mananthavadi in Wayanad district is known as the ‘Kashi of the South’. Believers from Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu poured into the jungle shrine from Monday afternoon.
Eleven priests led by chief priest AC Narayanan Namboothiri and Krishnan Namboothiri helped the devotees perform the rituals. A majority of devotees camped at the temple premises since Monday afternoon and the parking grounds at Kattikulam were full by the evening. The rituals started from 2.30 am on Tuesday and concluded by 2.30 pm.
Tirunelli temple executive officer T.T. Vinodan told DC that this year the number of pilgrims who paid obeisance to their forefathers was higher than the previous year.
“We are yet to count the coupons distributed”, he said. KSRTC and government-owned Priyadarshini Transport Corporation conducted special services for pilgrims from Kattikulam to Tirunelli.
The vehicles of devotees were not allowed to avoid traffic blocks in the narrow jungle road which were kept at the school ground at Kattikulam. Various departments including police, Fire and rescue, KSEB, health and forest were active in coordination to ensure comfort of the pilgrims and smooth conduct of bali rituals.
