Two Pappanjis to be set afire at Fort Kochi to ring in New Year

Kerala High Court allows burning of Pappanjis in Fort Kochi for New Year celebrations with safety measures in place.

Two Pappanjis (effigies of old men) will be set afire in Fort Kochi to ring in the New Year, with the Kerala High Court giving a conditional nod for the one put up at Veli Ground.

Another one, put up by Cochin Carnival Committee will be set afire at Parade Ground as part of the New Year programmes.

Justice Harisankar V. Menon on Friday (December 27) directed Gala De Fort Kochi, a local club that erected the nearly 50-feet-tall Pappanji at Veli Ground, to set up safety barricades at a circumference of 70 feet from the base of the effigy.

The court, which stayed a notice issued by the police to remove the effigy on safety grounds, observed that the club, which had obtained the required clearances from government departments was not to be prevented from burning the effigy.

Office-bearers of the club informed the court that they had put up a safety barricade within 42-feet circumference of the effigy. Separate pavilions have been set up for foreign and domestic tourists. Medical teams, 280 volunteers, and 32 surveillance cameras would be deployed around Veli Ground, with monitors at the Fort Kochi police control room and the Corporation office, they said.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mattancherry, informed the court that the police had issued notices to all clubs to remove effigies taller than 10 feet. The notices were issued to curb the possibility of miscreants setting them on fire.

The Veli Ground area had witnessed untoward incidents earlier, including the act of some miscreants reportedly trying to forcibly pour beer into the mouth of a young girl on December 23 and manhandling her friend.