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Poson Poya visitors to Anuradhapura avoid water bodies warn authorities
View(s):Pilgrims and tourists, local and foreign, going to Anuradhapura for the forthcoming Poson Poya Festival have been cautioned against bathing in lakes and tanks in the region, owing to the rise in water levels posing a serious threat.
Police and Irrigation officials said that, as the water levels were very high, these waterways are very deep, and therefore, cautioned people from bathing or swimming in them.
Thousands of people are expected to converge on the sacred city during the forthcoming season, and many are fond of a dip in the waterways, sometimes after consuming alcohol, they added.
At least 620 lifeguards, drawn from the Police, Navy and Civil Defence Force will be stationed in the Anuradhapura area.
Pilgrims are requested not to bathe in the Tissa Wewa, which is only to be used as a source of drinking water.
Meanwhile, a senior police official warned people against breaking down bricks and rocks from archaeological sites in the area, to build hearths for outdoor cooking, as stern action would be taken against such persons because of destruction to the archaeological value.
An unidentified number of plainclothes policemen will be part of a larger group of 3,000 uniformed officers deployed in Anuradhapura for the Poson Poya Festival, a senior official said today.
He said that added police presence will be deployed for traffic arrangements and to nab mischief makers during this period, while at the same time providing security to the thousands of devotees expected to throng the area.
Meanwhile, the Railway Dept has arranged free transport for pilgrims between the sacred city of Anuradhapura and Mihintale between June 1 and 3, an official said.
- (LB)