102 Marriages at Tiruporur Murugan Temple Cause Heavy Rush on OMR

A total of 102 marriages were solemnised at the Kandaswamy Murugan Temple in Tiruporur in Chengalpet district on Sunday, coinciding with the first auspicious waxing-moon day of the Tamil month of Avani. The massive influx of wedding parties and devotees left the temple complex and surrounding stretches of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) heavily congested.

Temple authorities had registered 72 marriages in advance for the day. However, the total count rose significantly after another 30 couples arrived at the venue without prior booking and exchanged garlands directly at the temple sanctum.

The Tiruporur Kandaswamy Temple, an ancient and prominent Murugan shrine, has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of couples choosing to marry on its premises. To handle the high volume of ceremonies on Sunday, marriages were conducted at multiple spots across the complex, including the 16-pillared hall, the inner prakaram, the Utsavar Mandapam, and the circular mandapam.

In addition to the couples tying the knot on the premises, several other newly married couples arrived at the shrine for darshan after conducting their weddings at other locations. The presence of numerous couples alongside their visiting relatives and friends resulted in severe overcrowding inside the temple, making movement in and out of the premises difficult for devotees and wedding parties.

The congestion spilled well outside the temple grounds as well. More than 15 marriage halls located along the surrounding Mada Streets hosted wedding events on the same day. The concentrated movement of wedding parties, visitors, and vehicles created severe traffic bottlenecks across the Mada Streets and along Old Mahabalipuram Road.