Pongala lines can be extended: Kerala High Court

KOCHI: There is nothing wrong in Attukal Pongala lines extending to Kanyakumari or Attingal and beyond, the Kerala High Court observed on Thursday. However, “religious festivals and processions like Attukal Pongala on roadsides should be granted permission only after ensuring that they do not obstruct the traffic”, it said.The court upheld Section 5(1)(a) of the Kerala Public Ways Act which authorises district police chiefs to allow holding of religious or national festivals without obstructing public roads completely, by permitting use on one side leaving the other side for traffic.A Division Bench comprising Justice C N Ramachandran Nair and Justice P S Gopinathan said: “There is nothing wrong in the Pongala lines stretching to Kanyakumari or going straight in the opposite direction on the National Highway to Attingal or beyond”.