Ending nine days of suspense and uncertainty, the Thrissur Pooram fireworks was displayed on Friday afternoon. The fireworks, which was initially scheduled for early morning on May 11, was postponed thrice due to rain.
Though the vedikkettu, which was displayed during the day, lacked the confluence of colours of the usual night show, fans of the fireworks hooted in joy to the display. For the festival organisers, it was a sigh of relief, ending the uncertainty of many days.
The Paramekkavu Devaswom started the fireworks at 2 p.m., followed by the Thiruvambadi Devaswom. However, the rain started pouring over the city as soon as the Thiruvambadi Devaswom finished its first round of fireworks. Later, both the devaswoms displayed a round of amittu, the large cracker that bursts into colours in the skies, during respites between spells of rain. However, against the backdrop of the day’s sky, its colours failed to fully enchant the viewers.
District Collector Haritha V. Kumar decided to conduct the fireworks between 2 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. on the day as the district witnessed sparse rain on Thursday. Stocking the fully-loaded fireworks indefinitely was risky. The explosives were kept at the fireworks godown under the tight security the police, the devaswoms and Revenue officials.
The sky appeared clear on Friday morning. However, due to rain forecast after 3 p.m, Revenue Minster K. Rajan called a meeting to review the situation and decided to conduct the fireworks from 1 p.m. The Minister as well as the devaswoms insisted that the fireworks must be displayed on Friday.
Subsequently, arrangements for the conduct of fireworks were made at a brisk pace. Unprecedented security measures were taken by the pyrotechnicians. All the fireworks – from ola padakkam to gundu and amittu – were covered with plastic sheets to protect from rain. Traffic was regulated in the city from 12 p.m.
Even at short notice, fans of the fireworks flocked to the city by afternoon. All roads to the Swaraj Round and the nearby buildings were crowded..
