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TRINCOMALEE, SRI LANKA, June 5, 2002: For the first time since 1983, pilgrims could undertake the arduous six-week pada yatra or foot pilgrimage to Kataragama, the ancient shrine to Lord Muruga. Sinhalese and foreign devotees as well as ardent Tamil devotees from Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Trincomalee reached the first leg in Trincomalee. Vallimalai Balananda Sadhu, bears the lance or Holy Vel, symbol of God Kataragama in this year’s pada yatra. Sri Lanka’s ongoing peace process has this year made it possible for devotees to walk to Kataragama from the traditional rendezvous point at Vattappalai (Mullaitivu district). Even after obtaining full clearance from the Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, the pilgrims faced prolonged delays and questioning from LTTE officials at Puliyankulam and Kilinochi, interrogations by LTTE police inspectors at Vattappalai and further questioning by Sea Tiger cadres at Chemmalai. Both government and LTTE security officials alike strongly advise the public to avoid the broad landmine-strewn “no-man’s land” separating the two sides. Their passage will take pilgrims via Pottuvil and Okanda through Yala National Park to reach the Kataragama Sacred City in time for the Esala Festival flag-hoisting on July 10. The Kataragama Pada Yatra, Sri Lanka’s oldest surviving tradition of foot pilgrimage, went into abeyance in 1983 with the onset of ethnic conflict. It was revived in 1988 by the Kataragama Devotees Trust.

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