KARUR: Nearly 150 relatives of those killed in the Karur stampede travelled from Karur to Chennai on Sunday evening to meet Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder Vijay on Monday, marking the actor-politician’s first in-person interaction with the bereaved families.
According to party sources, the TVK arranged five Omni buses that departed from Vennamalai after receiving instructions from the party headquarters to ensure all families reached Chennai by night. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday in Mamallapuram.
Of the 31 families in Karur who lost loved ones in the stampede during Vijay’s public rally at Velusamypuram on September 27, six to eight opted out of the visit, citing health issues, ongoing 30th-day rituals, or a reluctance to travel. TVK cadres were still trying to persuade a few who remained hesitant, sources said.
To coordinate the journey and ensure safety, senior district secretaries including Erode district secretary Balaji, Coimbatore’s Sambath Kumar, Madurai’s Vijay Anban, Pudukkottai’s Parvesh, and others were placed in charge of logistics.
Each bus had three in-charges and around 15 volunteers from Adhav Arjun’s Voice of Commons team to assist the families throughout the trip. The families are expected to return to Karur on Monday evening after the meeting.
TVK sources said that apart from Karur, nine of the ten families from other districts affected by the tragedy also boarded the buses to Chennai.
Lali, aunt of Dhruvvishnu, one of the victims, said she was travelling with the victim’s differently-abled mother and four relatives. Periyasami, a relative of Sankar Ganesh (45), who allegedly died in the stampede in Karur, said he was travelling from Dindigul. Sabari, a relative of B. Manikandan (33) from Vellaikoyil, also confirmed their family’s participation in the visit.
The meeting is significant as it will be Vijay’s first direct engagement with the victims’ families since the tragedy. The TVK had earlier transferred Rs. 20 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.
