Church festival to be celebrated

The festival of St. Joseph's Parish Shrine, Pavaratty, will be celebrated on Sunday. Thousands of devotees are expected to participate in the church festival.

The main celebrations of the church feast started when the vicar Noby Ambookkan led a special offering (Ootu Thirunal) ceremony on Saturday morning.

The ‘Ootu Thirunal' will take place till the evening on Sunday, when thousands of devotees are expected to participate.

Arrangements have been made so that more than 2,000 people can dine simultaneously.

Mattannoor Shankarankutty Marar led the performance of the ‘nadaykkal melam' on Saturday afternoon.

Auxiliary Bishop Raphael Thattil led the Holy Mass on Saturday evening. Special ceremonies including ‘kooduthurakkal' were performed.

The police have tightened the security measures. A team led by Guruvayur Assistant Police Commissioner R. K. Jayarajan and shadow police will oversee security.

Officers from the Health Department made a surprise check in the bakeries and cool bars near here.

Old, stale and banned food items and soft drinks were seized by the authorities from many nearby shops.

The Hindu Thrissur Bureau