The Kavadi dance will go ahead at this year’s Devinuwara Perahera after Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala granted permission for all 45 troupes that took part in last year’s procession to perform, reversing a police recommendation to drop the segment on security grounds.
The decision was finalised at a special discussion held on Monday afternoon at the Matara District Secretariat, chaired by Wijepala and attended by Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne, Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya and Matara District Secretary Chandana Thilakarathne, Daily Mirror reported. Additional police and Special Task Force personnel will be deployed to reinforce security for the procession, which takes place on July 28.
The reversal follows a week of warnings from security agencies about the event.
Matara District Secretary Chandana Thilakaratne has instructed the temple’s Basnayake Nilame to exclude the Kavadi performance, acting on intelligence assessments and a formal recommendation from Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya. The recommendation drew on information from the Chief of National Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence, the State Intelligence Service and the Police Special Task Force.
According to police, the tensions stem from a decision by the temple administration to exclude 20 of the 47 Kavadi groups that had applied to take part in this year’s procession. A threatening voice recording demanding that groups dropped from last year’s event be reinstated had recently circulated on social media, followed by a separate response recording.
The concerns escalated after a shooting was reported on July 21 near a house close to the temple — an attack police have linked to rivalry between organised crime figures over control of the perahera. Investigators have said there is a risk that individuals tied to these groups could infiltrate Kavadi teams, raising the prospect of clashes and loss of life. Authorities also cited intelligence about a possible threat involving the use of drones during the Kavadi performance.
On that basis, the IGP had recommended temporarily suspending the participation of Kavadi groups — a position the Public Security Minister has now set aside in favour of allowing the troupes to perform under a strengthened security presence. The procession is one of the southern region’s largest religious events.
