KARUR: Hours before actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay arrived in Velusamypuram on Saturday, the narrow 60-foot road chosen for his public meeting had already become a trap.
By Sunday morning, the only signs of the tragedy were scattered slippers, torn banners, cars of leaders visiting the site causing traffic, and reminders of the 40 people, from a one-and-a-half-year-old child to a 60-year-old woman, who were crushed to death in the stampede.
Residents and survivors said the venue itself was a recipe for disaster. The stretch was barricaded with Vijay’s banners and a divider, leaving no escape route for the thousands who had gathered.
From 8 am, people were packed shoulder to shoulder, many surviving on just sips of water while waiting for Vijay, scheduled for 1 pm but arriving only after 7 pm. “The crowd never moved an inch for hours. There was no air, no food, nowhere to go; streets of this area are very narrow or else these crowds would have dispersed,” said G. Raj of Thiruvalluvar Nagar.
Panic broke out even before Vijay’s arrival when youngsters climbed onto a tin roof that collapsed, hurling bodies into the jammed crowd below. “A woman died right in front of my eyes near the generator set. Police were nowhere to be seen,” he added.
Others blamed the delay. “If Vijay had come on time, this wouldn’t have happened,” said R. Balaji of Thanthondri Malai.
M. Balasubramaniyam described how more groups from other districts joined in the evening, worsening the crush. “People broke open the generator room temporarily set up to supply power for speakers and halogens, just to breathe. The power went off for a few minutes and came back again.” He also recalled a brief struggle between the crowd and police, which led to a lathi charge.
R. Vetrivel, a local resident, said poor crowd control triggered the tragedy as many remained rooted to their spots for hours, fearing they would lose a good view of Vijay. “Students, college girls and school students should have been made to stand in boxes, like in a formation, with proper divisions. Separate groups should have been created and each district’s participants placed within their own groups,” he said, adding there was no one to properly organise the crowd. He noted that people grew exhausted as songs were constantly blared to keep up the “josh.”
Another eyewitness, L. Divyan, whose house is just steps from the incident site, said the disaster could have been avoided with better planning. “If proper restrictions and timings had been enforced, the situation would not have gone out of control. With better organisation, these 40 young lives could have been saved,” he said.