NAGAPATTINAM: Tragedy struck the annual festival of the Dargah of Saint Hazrath Syed Shahul Hameed Quadir Wali at Nagore on Wednesday, after two youth were electrocuted and two others hurt, during the ‘Sandanakoodu’ procession, regarded as the most important event of the festival. As part of the 456th annual Kandoori estival, the procession, which featured the ‘sandanakoodu’ minaret followed by many small illuminated cars (pallakku)commenced on Tuesday night. Thousands of devotees from across India, countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Gulf nations, were present to witness the ‘sandanakoodu’ procession, as it reached Nagore early on Wednesday. Around 4 am, while the procession was making its way via the Kunjali Maraickar Street at Nagore, one of the cars (pallakku) behind the minaret reportedly came into contact with an overhead power cable.
Two youth, Thameem Ansari (25) and Sabeer (22) of Nagapattinam, who were sitting on the pallakku, were electrocuted. Two others, Ashik (25) Keezhamathur and Riswan (20) of Tiruvarur, also sustained injuries. However, according to sources in the Electricity Board, if the car had come into contact with the High Tension electricity line, the control unit would have tripped. “In this incident, the unit did not trip. Also, cases of electrocution caused by contact with a high tension wire would result in charring on the spot,” an EB official said. “We suspect that the incident would have happened due to faults in the generator set,” the official said. Nagore police have registered a case.