Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala has decided to permit all 45 Kavadi dance groups that participated in last year’s annual Esala Perahera of the historic Devinuwara Uthpalawanna Sri Vishnu Maha Devalaya to perform again this year.
The decision was reached during a special meeting held at the Matara District Secretariat this afternoon (27).
The meeting was attended by Minister Wijepala, Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne, IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya, Matara District Secretary Chandana Thilakaratne and other relevant parties.
The decision follows an earlier Police recommendation to suspend the Kavadi segment of the Perahera based on security concerns.
Authorities have also decided to deploy additional Police and Special Task Force (STF) personnel to provide security for the Perahera scheduled for tomorrow (28). (Newswire)