THOOTHUKUDI: A 41-year-old woman was killed and two persons were injured when the concrete roof of Giri Prahara Mandapam of Tiruchendur Subramania Swamy Temple collapsed on Thursday. It is the second abode of Lord Murugn and draws thousands of devotees every year. It is also considered as one of the highest revenue generating temples in the State.
Sources said that the concrete roof built in 1974 collapsed around 9.45 am owing to the damage of five pillars on the eastern corner of Praharam, killing a buttermilk vendor Petchiammal (41). Soon, police and fire and rescue personnel cordoned off the area and rescued two others - Senthil Arumugam (64) of Tiruchendur and Kandasamy (74) of Tirupur, and rushed them to a nearby hospital.
Kandasamy was a retired VAO, said sources. Sources said that the toll could have been higher but low number of devotees on Thursday averted a major tragedy. Based on the complaint lodged by VAO Karthikeyan, the Tiruchendur police station registered a case.
Meanwhile, expressing deep grief over the death of R Pechiammal when the concrete wall of north-eastern portion outer ‘prahara’ of Tiruchendur Murugan temple collapsed earlier in the day, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday granted a financial assistance of `5 lakh to the family of the deceased.
Palaniswami also announced an assistance of `1 lakh each to two persons who suffered injuries, from the temple funds.
To prevent recurrence of such incidents, the Chief Minister directed the HR and CE Department to ascertain the stability of temple buildings across the State.