The Car festival at the famous Gowmariamman Temple, Veerapandi drew a huge turnout of devotees from far and wide on Friday.

The annual Chitrai festival of the temple began with the hoisting of the holy flag on May 12 and it concludes on May 19.

As a part of the celebrations, the Car festival was held on Friday, in which District Collector Ranjith Singh, Superintendent of Police Sneha Priya, Theni MP Thanga Tamil Selvan, Periyakulam MLA Sabari Aynkaran and HR&CE officials pulled the Car.

Along with the devotees, the Collector, who sported a traditional dhoti, pulled the Car in the presence of his family members.

The Directorate of Information and Public Relations department had organised a photo exhibition on the occasion, which was inaugurated by the Collector.

The HR&CE officials led by AC Jayadevi said that they had made elaborate arrangements for the devotees visiting the shrine. The temple administration had displayed boards on the entry/exit and through public address system, the information on the various pujas were mentioned in detail.

Elaborate bandobust arrangements were made and the police personnel ensured that the women and children, who had arrived here, were safe. District Revenue Officer P Rajkumar, ADSP Mahesh and other officers also participated on the occasion.