 Summary of this article
- Sample fireworks on April 24 and the main display on April 27 have been completely cancelled.
- The Kudamattam ceremony will be shortened to 15 minutes with fewer umbrellas and 15 elephants from each side.
- Major traditions, including Ilanjithara Melam and the elephant procession, will continue under revised arrangements.
No fireworks will be held at this year’s Thrissur Pooram following the firecracker unit explosion that claimed 14 lives and left several others seriously injured.
A high-level meeting held at the Thrissur Collectorate on Thursday decided to cancel both the sample fireworks scheduled for April 24 and the main display traditionally held in the early hours of April 27. The decision was taken in the wake of the tragedy at Mundathikode, where an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit set up for Thiruvambady Devaswom resulted in multiple deaths, injuries and reports of missing persons.
Although the fireworks have been abandoned, the festival’s key rituals will continue in a scaled-down form. The famous Kudamattam ceremony, involving the exchange of decorative parasols atop elephants, will be reduced to a symbolic 15-minute event instead of its usual hour-long display.
Fifteen elephants each from Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady will take part. The number of ornamental umbrella sets prepared by both sides will also be reduced. |
