Onam celebrated with gaiety & religious fervour

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalis on Friday celebrated Onam, the harvest festival, with traditional gaiety and religious fervour.
    
People dressed in new clothes went to temples early on Friday morning. Heavy rush of devotees was reported in the famous temples of Sabarimala, Guruvayur and Sree Padmanabha here.
    
Hundreds of people took part in Onam feast at these temples.
    
Boat races, cultural programmes organised by various sports and youth organisations were also held as part of the celebrations.
    
The celebrations in homes would culminate with a feast of traditional dishes which would be served on banana leaves. Delicious payasam is the main attraction of the Onam feast.
    
However, typical of Kerala, the festival day too has its own share of agitations. Activists of Kerala Building Construction Workers Union staged a hunger strike in front of secretariate here in support of thier various demands including implemention of welfare schemes.
    
Hundreds of land right agitators at Harrison Plantation Corporation estate in Chengara held demonstration and continued their protest in the estate, where they had put up temporary tents by encroaching into the estate.
    
A lady activists said there was no need for them to hold any special hunger strike as they were already starving for the past few months due to non-avilability food items.