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| Friday, 30 July 2004 |
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by D. Oliver Silva, Tennakoon Kulasekara and S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen Lakhs of people are expected in Kandy to witness the Kandy Esala pageant on July 30 and 31. The Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyaratne said all arrangements have been finalised to enable this vast congregation to view the perahera without hassle. He requested the people to come in refined attire befitting the occasion and take their positions along the perahera route early to avoid the last minute rush. The Diyawadana Nilame said the Maligawa tusker Indiraja carrying the relics casket will walk under a canopy (Uduviyan) along a carpet (Pavada) on July 30 and 31. He said 'Indiraja' as well as its two attendant tuskers in the perahera - 'Kaveni Raja' and 'Sinharaja' belong to the group of Maligawa tuskers. Both 'Indiraja' and 'Kaveni Raja' were gifted to the Maligawa by the Indian Government while 'Sinharaja' was gifted by the Sri Lanka Army's Sinha Regiment. Apart from this the baby tusker 'Migara' gifted to the Maligawa by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is also participating in the perahera. Meanwhile, The second Randoli Perahera of the Kandy Esala Maha Perahera once again drew very large crowds with the weather keeping fine on Wednesday - night. This was the largest crowd so far this year but a bigger crowd is expected in the next two days with the Perahera itself taking a longer route with more elephants participating. It was not only the locals but a large number of tourists were also seen witnessing the perahera which will boost the local tourist trade as the hotels being fully booked. Temporary seats to view the Perahera have sprung in front of many business establishments which found them to be a very lucrative business with some of the seats priced at Rs. 5,000 per seat. But still there is a good demand for them and they are readily snapped. The Kandy Municipal Council ensured a steady supply of drinking water for the large crowds and medical and first aid services by voluntary organisations were also readily available if the necessity arose. |
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