THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thousands of devotees have lined up on the streets of Thiruvananthapuram to attend the annual pongala ritual of Attukal Devi temple.

Temple officials said the devotees’ turnout increased when compared to the previous years. There were long queues at the temple on the festival days. 

The rituals at the temple will begin at 10.15 am when the temple thantri Thekkedath Prameswaran Vasudevan Bhattathiri hands over a lighted lamp to the melsanthi. The latter will light the hearth at the valiya thidappally, the temple kitchen. He then hands over the lamp to his co-priest who would light the pandara aduppu, a large hearth set up on the temple courtyard.The lighting of the pandara aduppu marks the beginning of the community pongala ritual.

Devotees line up on the streets will light their hearths simultaneously, immersing the city streets in smoke and devotion for the next few hours. The ritual will end with the pouring of blessed water on the cooked porridges in the afternoon.