The Sri Karpaga Vinayagar Temple employs CTM to assist with two processions annually;

• March/April
• August

On the final weekend of August, the temple marks the end of 13 days of celebration with a chariot festival. The procession forms up outside the temple in Bedford Road and, when ready, proceeds along a clockwise route of approximately 1000 metres.

The chariot is pulled by worshippers and is intended to show unity and strength, giving the message that if people join together then great things can be achieved. The chariot itself is thought to contain a deity, which is blessed as it is pulled around the local area.

Whilst primarily marking the end of a celebration, the event also enables the temple community to reach out and connect with their neighbours who might not have visited the temple. The local community are provided with an opportunity for learning and understanding of Hindu/Tamil culture and religious traditions, and the importance of preserving and passing on these traditions and practices to future generations.

Prior to the event CTM provide the Traffic Management Plan and liaise with local authorities to ensure that there are no issues on the road networks that would impede with the event.

CTM provide a Metropolitan Police Accredited Supervisor and four Accredited Operatives to work on foot with the procession. The Supervisor walks with the head of the procession and ensures operatives are informed of when to close roads and reroute traffic. As the procession passes each junction the road is reopened, thus allowing the procession to proceed through a system of ‘rolling roadblocks’. These allow the procession to continue along narrow roads without hinderance and safely cross main roads along the route, whilst minimising the disruption to local road users.

The CTM team work closely with the organisers and the steward team on the day to ensure the procession doesn’t become too clustered or dispersed, and therefore risk spilling onto the road or spreading out too far and causing delays.