Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 13 (PTI) In a show of communal harmony and brotherhood, the Manakkad Juma Masjid here opened its doors and provided facilities to the thousands of women who arrived in the state capital for the 'Attukal Pongala' on Thursday.

A mosque representative said the entire parking area was opened for those arriving in their vehicles and accommodations were arranged inside the mosque for the drivers.

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"Besides that, separate toilets for women and drinking water facilities were also made available for the devotees. One of the rooms was also converted for use by the police personnel who would be on duty during the festival," the representative told a TV channel.

He also said that the mosque provides the facilities every year, which was attested to by the women devotees present there.

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He expressed regret that they could not provide food to the 'pongala' devotees in the morning due to the ongoing fasting during the Ramadan period.

"We provided food yesterday evening when we broke the fast for the day," he added.

The St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral here too provided water, rest and toilet facilities to the women devotees who arrived for the 'pongala'.

It had done so last year as well.

Besides them, the parishioners of St Theresa of Lisieux Catholic Church at Vellayambalam here provided buttermilk to the 'pongala' devotees, a church official said.

Thousands of women of all ages who came to the state capital from Keral and beyond, some even from abroad, offered 'pongala' to the presiding deity of the Attukal Bhagavathy temple on Thursday, braving the scorching sun.

Preparing 'pongala' is considered an auspicious all-women ritual as part of the annual festival of the Attukal temple here, popularly known as the 'Women's Sabarimala'.

As per local legend, the annual festival commemorates the hospitality accorded by women in the locality to Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic 'Silappadhikaram', after she destroyed Madurai city to avenge the execution of her husband Kovalan who was wrongly branded as a thief.

(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)