THRISSUR: In a refreshing development, the hall attached to temple at Eravathur near Mala became the venue for the

on Wednesday for the devotees from the nearby

which is still remaining flooded.

The office-bearers of the Purappullikkavu Rathneswari Temple run by SNDP Yogam happily volunteered when they realized that priests at the nearby Kochukadavu Juma Masjid were looking for a place to organize the community prayer session on the Eid day.

"We were hoping that the water will recede by Wednesday and we will be able to offer the Eid prayers at the Masjid itself . However, two days back itself we realised that this may not be possible. When we discussed the issue with the temple office-bearers, they immediately offered their hall for the prayers,’’ said P A Khalid, president of the Masjid Mahallu committee.

"We thought offering the temple hall for Eid prayers will be an expression of the secular lineage of this land. We had also arranged all other facilities like water for cleaning for the devotees who had come for offering prayers," said P K Sabu, who is the president of SNDP Union Mala.

About 200 Muslims had assembled to offer prayers at the temple hall. "We were very happy to hold the prayer session there, and we spent about two hours there," Khalid said.

"The catastrophic flood had united us transcending all the boundaries of caste, religion and politics. Offering of Eid prayers at the temple hall reinforced this realization of human unity given by the flood," said Jijikumar, a SNDP Union activist and a Dubai-based NRI who had played an active role in organizing the Eid prayer session at the temple hall.

The mosques in the district had scaled down the Eid festivities in view of the sufferings caused by the flood to the people as a whole.