Rameswaram, August 6, 2013:  Over two lakh devotees thronged this island town to offer worship at the famous Ramanathaswamy temple and perform poojas to their forefathers on auspicious 'amavasya' day Tuesday.

State ministers Sundararaj and R Kamaraj took a holy dip in all the wells, joined the queue and also offered worship at the temple.

Official sources said VIP darshan had been limited as the temple was overcrowded and arrangements made for smooth flow of the queues by deploying Police and security personnel.

In Kanyakumari lakhs of devotees gathered at the sea coast on the occassion and peformed poojas, while in Tiruchi devotees gathered at Ammanmandapam on the banks of Cauvery. However barricades put up at many places led to heated arguments between the devout and police.

A Nagapattinam report said thousands of people took a holy dip in the Bay of Bengal at Vedaranyam and Poompuhar in the district in connection with 'Aadi Amavasai.'

In both these towns, a large number of tsunami-hit people also performed ceremonies in memory of their loved ones, who lost their lives in the December 2004 tsunami.

At Tarangambadi too, a large number of people performed rites in memory of their ancestors.

Source: Manorama Online, August 6, 2013