The first river festival, hosted by the Tourism Department, was organised at the Thirukanchi Gangai Varaha Nandeeswarar temple on the banks of Sankarabarani river on Saturday.
Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, Speaker R. Selvam, Tourism Minister K. Lakshminarayanan, Agriculture Minister C. Djeacoumar, MLAs and other officials participated in the ceremonies at the river festival in Villianur commune panchayat.
The river festivals were hosted as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate India’s 75th year of independence and also to raise awareness on river rejuvenation. Various folk art forms were organised to celebrate rural heritage.
A river cleaning drive and a sapling planting programme were also organised.
A similar river festival — the Cauvery river festival — was held in Karaikal on Sunday.
