Cauvery Theerthodbhava at Talacauvery on Oct. 17

•Meeting chaired by Minister in-charge of Kodagu to decide on whether to allow devotees to witness the divine occurrence as the public was barred from visiting the place in view of COVID-19 scare

•Health Dept to hold a special camp of conducting RT-PCR test on October 13 and 14 if it was made mandatory for visitors to the event

Shankar Bennur

:

The Cauvery Theerthodbhava will occur at Talacauvery in Kodagu on October 17.

A decision on whether to allow devotees to witness the occasion will be taken soon after the meeting to be chaired by the Minister in charge of Kodagu, said Deputy Commissioner Charulatha Somal. Last year, devotees were not allowed to witness the occasion in view of the pandemic.

In view of COVID-19, the Deputy Commissioner has asked the Health Department to deploy an adequate number of health teams at Talacauvery for ensuring SOPs.

At a meeting in Madikeri on Wednesday, she told the officials to make all necessary arrangements for the event. All cleanliness drives must take place before the event at Bhagamandala and Talacauvery through the Bhagamandala GP. Drinking water, toilets and parking arrangements must be done at the site ahead of the event. The filling-up of potholes on the Madikeri-Talacauvery road must be taken up immediately. The KSRTC will be asked to run more buses to Talacauvery if the public are allowed to participate.

Superintendent of Police Kshama Mishra said adequate police and home guards will be deployed at Talacauvery and Bhagamandala for security.

DHO Venkatesh said RT-PCR test camp will be conducted on October 13 and 14 if the test is made mandatory for visitors.

Last year, a small number of people witnessed the amidst strict enforcement of safety precautions over COVID-19 scare.

No special buses ran to Talacauvery from Madikeri and other places, and the movement of private vehicles had also been restricted.

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