Thiruvananthapuram: Thousands of devotees witnessed ‘kodiyettu’ (flag hoisting) ceremony at the famed Bhagavathy Amman temple at Mondaikad, near Colachel, on Sunday. The ritual marks the commencement of 10-day annual Koda festival.Madras high court judge L C Victoria Gowri, Kanyakumari district collector R Alagumeena, Padmanabhapuram sub-collector Vinay Kumar Meena and Kanyakumari devaswom executive officer A Jhansi Rani were among a host of dignitaries who attended the rituals, culminating in the hoisting of the temple flag at 8.10am. Temple ‘tantri’ Edakkode Sankaranarayana Iyer led the rituals along with temple priests. The legendary Koda, the high point of the annual festival at the coastal temple, will take place on March 10, attended by thousands of devotees, especially women, from various regions of Tamil Nadu and the southern parts of Kerala.
