Two people died and a few people were injured in a stampede during a ceremony involving Lord Kallazhagar entering the Vaigai river festival in Tamil Nadu's Madurai, police said. A huge crowd had gathered to witness the Madurai Chithirai Festival as it was held after two years owing to restrictions imposed earlier due to COVID-19.
According to police, one man and a woman died while around eight people were injured in the stampede that took place as devotees were returning after witnessing the festival. The injured were shifted to the Madurai Government Hospital.
Taking to Twitter, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin extended his condolences to the families of the deceased. The state government has announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead and a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the severely injured and Rs 1 lakh to those who suffered less severe injuries.
மதுரையில் நடைபெற்று வரும் சித்திரை திருவிழாவில் கூட்ட நெரிசலில் சிக்கி உயிரிழந்தோரின் குடும்பத்தாருக்கு மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் ஆறுதல் மற்றும் நிதியுதவியை அறிவித்தார் pic.twitter.com/1YXuCQ1gUZ
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) April 16, 2022
A few days back on April 12, a stampede-like situation was seen at the Venkateswara temple in Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, with a few devotees reportedly injured. The temple has been receiving huge footfalls of nearly 60,000 to 80,000 devotees in a day. On April 12, visuals showed a huge number of devotees crammed against each other, with the police and other authorities struggling to control the crowd. Many devotees complained of lack of facilities, saying there was no place to sit or to avail food and water.
Earlier on January 1, 12 people were killed in a stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir. The shrine had witnessed a heavy rush of devotees on New Year’s Day, which triggered the stampede in the early hours of January 1 near one of the gates outside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine atop Trikuta hills, about 50 km from Jammu.