COVID restrictions: Women offer Attukal Pongala at home

The mass gathering of devotees and their burning brick hearths that line the city roads on the occasion of the 'Attukal Pongala' were missing on Thursday. Amid COVID restrictions, thousands of women, cutting across age barriers offered 'Pongala' to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple, from the safety of their homes. Considered as one of the largest religious congregations of women in the world, the annual Pongala festival has been a muted affair for the past two years in the wake of the COVID pandemic. As the authorities issued strict instructions against the mass gathering of people in public places in view of the recent surge in infections, the celebrations were restricted to homes this year as well.