Kataragama festival to begin on July 24

This year’s Kataragama Esala Festival will begin on July 24 and end with the water cutting ceremony on August 8. The ‘Kap’ planting ceremony will be held on June 10, forty five days prior to the festival.

A preliminary meeting to discuss arrangements for the festival was held at the Kirivehera Rajamaha Vihara under the chairmanship of Monaragala Government Agent D.A. Pathmakulasuriya. The GA instructed the officials to make the necessary arrangements to provide transport, health, sanitary and lodging facilities to the tens of thousands of pilgrims who were expected to participate in the various rituals during the festival season. She stressed the need to provide security to the pilgrims who were expected to arrive from the North and East after a long through the Yala National Park.

The GA reminded the officers to carry out their duties with a high sense of responsibility as a duty to the deities to make the festival held for the 2,245th year a success. She recalled the problems created by wildlife officers last year for the officers of other departments providing safety and security and other facilities to the pilgrims making a long journey on foot through the Yala sanctuary. She pointed out that steps should be taken to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents this year.

The GA instructed the Police and the Excise officers to close all liqour shops in the Kataragama town and to carry out raids to arrest individuals selling liqour and requested the officials of the Environmental Authority to prevent the use of polythene within the sacred area.

Kirivehera Rajamaha Vihara Chief Incumbent the Ven. Kobawaka Dhamminna Thera, Chief Adhikarana Sanghanayake of the Ruhunu Magam Pattu and Chief Incumbent of the Sri Abhinawarama temple, the Ven. Kapugama Sri Saranatissa Thera, and senior officials of government institutions in the area attended the meeting.