Ayudha puja and Vijayadashami festivals are fast approaching now!!
Navarathri festival has been going on now in Chennai and in many parts of TN and people have been visiting many shops for purchases etc now. Tomorrow is Ayudha Puja day.
It is customary to worship goddess Saraswathi/ Lakshmi etc during Ayudha Puja in various houses, offices and factories etc. As a result, the sales have been brisk now in places like Koyambedu, Mylapore and Purasawalkam etc in Chennai. Today it rained in many places in Chennai till 11am. People have stopped purchases in the rain for some time and in the evening the sales were up once again in the city. Traffic jams were present in many places in Chennai. The sales of fruit and flowers have gone up in this festival season.
Tomorrow is Ayudha puja and the day after is Vijaya dasami day and then it is Sunday. There are 3 days of continuous holidays available now. This has led to huge rush in many places in Chennai as many have already started to leave the city to their native places to celebrate the festival with their families and friends. The buses and trains are crowded now.
People have been thronging the Central and Egmore railway stations today. It is worthy to note that many are travelling in the unreserved compartments also in the trains. In the morning, crowds began to gather at the Koyambedu bus stand also. The bus stands in places like Tambaram, Poonamallee are also brimming with people now.
Additional buses/ special trains operated:
Usually 2100 buses would be operated from Chennai to various places in TN and for the sake of Ayudha Puja festival additional 500 buses are being operated from yesterday itself to transport the public. Today, an additional 2000 buses are being operated for the sake of the public. In the same way, the railways have announced the operation of special trains for the festival season. Tourist places are also full of people due to the festival holidays. This has led to overcrowding in the hotels etc in the tourist places.