Puducherry, Jan 16 (PTI): `Kannum Pongal,` the last day of the four-day Pongal festivities, which normally attracts a huge turnout of tourists and floating population from other States drew a blank on Sunday with absence of visitors, particularly with neighbouring Tamil Nadu observing weekend lockdown as part of combating coronavirus.

Puducherry has always been a preferred destination and rendezvous for revellers during Pongal festivals. The seashore, botanical garden, Bharathi Park and also the beach at Uppalam near here would witness people to gather and celebrate the day. But, with Covid-19 spreading and the enforcement of curbs in force coupled with the lockdown imposed today by Tamil Nadu government, there was no festive spirit.

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Usually, Saturdays and Sundays would witness inflow of people from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu into this former French colony. The youth would travel by buses and reach Puducherry and engage two-wheelers from private shops here to zoom around. But, today, even this trend was absent. The plying of inter-State buses was also suspended because of the ban on movement of vehicles due to the lockdown.

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Tourism is a vital industry for Puducherry and the territorial government hinges on revenue from tourism. This suffered a setback. The entertainment centres run by the Tourism Development Corporation and its boat club would be reverberating on weekends moreso during festivals like Kannum Pongal. But they were not, this time. Kannum Pongal is also deemed as an occasion to bring out the value of charity as those serving the residents would make a beeline to get `Pongal Inam`. There was hardly any flow of people this year. There were days when folk artistes from neighbouring Tindivanam, Cuddalore and Panruti in Tamil Nadu would play music and kindle the spirit of charity of the people here. There was none this year. To put in a nutshell, Covid took the sheen off the festivities.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)