CHENNAI: A septuagenarian died on Friday after visiting the Aththi Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kancheepuram. Earlier on Thursday, four out of 12 persons who fainted while waiting in queue for darshan died. Total death toll at the temple premises since the beginning of the 40-day festival has now risen to seven. The deceased, Arumugam, was from Virugambakkam. He collapsed at the temple around 2.45 pm and was rushed to the Kancheepuram GH, where he was declared as ‘brought dead’.
Crowd & chaos
A little child was also admitted to the hospital on Friday. She fell from a barricade kept at the temple and hurt her leg. Express spoke to devotees, doctors and officials at the temple, and their statements indicate shortcomings in crowd management. “Many senior citizens are visiting the temple though they cannot bear the crowd and congestion,” say medical officials. The general queue enters the premises through the East Mada Street, and people had started queuing there from 5 am.
With thousands flooding the temple for darshan, devotees say it takes them as much as nine hours to see the deity. “There are multiple lines and people coming from all directions,” says 58-year-old P Subramani, who has come from Salem with 27 others. “Many people jump the queue... fights break out... but police don’t seem to care about it. There are so many lines that we got confused.” M Velu from Chennai says the police had been making them run around in circles.
“The general queue has been frozen for hours, but the police are busy help VIPs,” says Velu. “There is no proper ventilation... just small fans. Children and the elderly are finding it difficult to breathe.”
Devotees also complained about bad odour and lack of drinking water in the temple. The authorities have replaced chlorinated water with RO purified water. But there are complaints of tumblers being stolen and the water drums being inaccessible. The e-toilets are also in an inaccessible location, in an open land far from the east gate. There was no water in these toilets when Express visited the place.
Police highhandedness?
Several local people have alleged police harassment, both physical and verbal. “A woman officer called me fat, and said I was taking up space meant for three people,” says 67-year-old N Rajam from Vellore.
“I had been waiting for five hours in the queue. I was so tired that I could not move. The police officer got irritated and, instead of helping, harassed me,” says Rajam.
Kalaiarasan of Coimbatore says police at the sanctum sanctorum were merciless. “We waited for nine hours for darshan, but were not allowed to pray for even a few seconds. Once we reached the sanctum sanctorum, the pushing and jostling started. Some even tripped and fell.”About 5,000 police personnel have been deployed at the temple. But they seemed helpless as the crowd did not thin even after 5 pm.
“We have deployed personnel all around the temple, to manage parking, traffic diversions and queues,” a senior official said. “There’s limited space here while the crowd keeps swelling.”Kancheepuram Collector P Ponniah was not available for comment. Officials at the collectorate said he was around the temple for the most part of the day, keeping everything in check. The 40-day-long festival will end on August 17.
‘kids, elderly stay away’
The government on Friday issued a public advisory for people visiting the temple. Signed by the Kancheepuram Collector and published in major dailies, the message said the size of crowd thronging the temple was increasing on a daily basis. The minimum waiting time for darshan ranged between 4 and 6 hours. The authorities requested elderly persons, those with health conditions, pregnant women and those with infants to avoid visiting the temple
Viewpoint
Devotees say it takes them as much as nine hours to see the deity
There are multiple lines, and as a result, fights break out
Lack of proper ventilation is another concern. Children and the elderly are finding it difficult to breathe
Devotees also complained about bad odour and lack of drinking water