Srirangapatna: The island town of Srirangapatna witnessed a huge influx of people from different parts of the State, as people came in thousands for offering ‘Pitru Tarpana’ to Cauvery River in memory of their ancestors on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasya yesterday.

Several spots on the Cauvery River Bank such as Sopanakatte, Gosai Ghat, Paschima Vahini, Cauvery Sangama etc., offered ‘Pinda Pradhana’ praying for the souls of their departed ancestors and near and dear ones to rest in peace. They also performed several other associated rituals in memory of their ancestors, on the banks of Cauvery River.

Of all the spots, Paschima Vahini, which is considered as a holy place for offering ‘Pitru Pinda,’ witnessed huge crowds as  people thronged the spot right from early morning in vehicles from across the State on the occasion of Mahalaya Amavasya, to pay homage to their ancestors.

People parked their vehicles at every available space in the town. The vehicles were parked in all the vacant places and all the main thoroughfares of the town was dotted with vehicles as they were parked one behind the other on either side of the roads. People were seen taking a holy dip in Cauvery water that flows through the town.

The famed Ranganathaswamy Temple witnessed a heavy rush of devotees on Saturday to have a glimpse of the deity. The vast space in front of the temple was completely filled with vehicles of visitors. The temple witnessed a serpentine queue of devotees. With huge influx of vehicles, the Fort Town of Srirangapatna saw frequent traffic jams on prominent roads of the town and also on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway that passes through the town. Meanwhile, the Pitru Pradhana / Pitru Tarpana will go on till Ayudha Puja that falls on Oct. 23.