Thirupparankundram residents observe fast demanding lighting lamp atop hill

Madurai, Dec 13 (PTI) A group of residents staged a fast agitation here on Saturday demanding that the Karthigai deepam be lit at the ancient stone lamp pillar atop the Thirupparankundram hill.

Since the high court restricted the number of participants for the protest to 50 people, several households in the temple town hoisted yellow flags of Lord Muruga, bearing an image of Seval (rooster) symbolising courage and dispelling darkness, to express their solidarity to the protesters.

Traders near the bus stand in Thirupparankundram lit lamps in front of their shops as a symbolic gesture demanding that the authorities allow the lamp to be lit at the lamp pillar (Deepathoon).

Today's protest was staged after Justice S Srimathy of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court granted permission on December 11 to petitioner R Prabhu to hold a peaceful 'fast' agitation with the participation of the public to draw the attention of the authorities to light the lamp at Deepathoon.

A conflict arose between a section of devotees and the management of the Arulmighu Subramanya Swamy temple and the local police on December 3, when the officials refused to implement the single judge's order on lighting the lamp at Deepathoon near a Dargah, as it would lead to communal tension in the area.

The stance of the officials led the petitioner Rama Ravikumar to move the Bench seeking contempt of court proceedings against the temple management, while the latter and police, too, challenged the December 1 order of Justice G R Swaminathan of the HC Bench. PTI JSP JSP ROH