The State capital is back to hosting week-long Onam celebrations after a hiatus of two years.
Opening the festivities at Nishagandhi auditorium here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said after the floods and the COVID-19 pandemic, this Onam was an opportunity for the people to celebrate.
In 2018, the State experienced unprecedented flooding. The next year, the monsoon wreaked havoc. In the two years after that, COVID-19 clamped down on any festivities. Though the COVID-19 threat had not gone away completely and climate change was a worry, the conditions were amenable to celebrations, he said, extending Onam greetings to everyone.
Actors Dulquer Salman and Aparna Balamurali were the chief guests at the function, presided over by Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas.
Ministers V. Sivankutty, Antony Raju, and G.R. Anil; MLAs V.K. Prasanth, Kadakampally Surendran, and I.B. Satheesh; MPs Shashi Tharoor and A. Rahim; and district panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar; were present.
