Pot-bellied men dressed up as Maveli or Mahabali, the erstwhile benevolent king roaming streets and wishing people, is a common sight during the Onam season.
On Sunday, in one such instance, ‘Mahabali’ visited Cherthala municipality and nearby grama panchayats with a different message. Mahabali who turned up two weeks before the Onam on the ‘invitation’ of the Cherthala police conveyed awareness messages about COVID-19 and urged the people to celebrate Onam ensuring physical distancing.
“We have initiated a number of awareness campaigns in recent weeks in a bid to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in the area. Mahabali was chosen as a theme to get more attention from the public,” said P. Sreekumar, circle inspector, Cherthala.
Mahabali accompanied with chendamelam visited the municipal area, Vayalar, Pallipuram, Varanad among other places. As part of the initiative, pamphlets were distributed to the public.
Cherthala DySP K. Subhash, SI M. Laizad Muhammed, and others were part of the initiative.
