Tamil Nadu   

Eyewitnesses blame it on lack of crowd regulation

K.T. Sangameswaran

Enough police personnel not posted at token distribution centre

CHENNAI: A wave of relief seekers rushed to Arignar Anna Corporation High School at MGR Nagar early on Sunday morning.

Eyewitnesses said there was little crowd regulation in the absence of adequate number of policemen. Several victims were trampled upon while rushing to the token counter. The streetlamp at the school entrance was not functioning.

"It was all over in 15 minutes," recalled a shocked Selvarani who, along with Amirthavalli and S. Kala, had gone to the school to get the tokens. They left their homes around 2.15 a.m. A crowd had collected in front of the school much earlier. Braving the intermittent rain, the token seekers were standing in queues, which extended to either side of Govindasamy Street and Devaraj Street. "It was an orderly crowd then," they recalled.

Around 4 a.m., a jeep arrived from one end of Govindasamy Street. Thinking that officials had arrived, the crowd surged towards the gate. When the gates opened, they rushed in, along a slope, triggering a stampede.

"We heard a boy, aged about 12, cry for help. We do not know his fate," they said. A few persons standing on the compound wall shouted to the people not to enter the school. "Later, we realised that so many people had died." Albert Ravi and other witnesses said those in the queue prepared to move on the arrival of the jeep. They said the tragedy could have been averted if the police had acted in time. "Where were the policemen? Did they not know or get information that a big crowd had been gathering near the school since last night? There were only a handful of policemen," said Ezhumalai.

Members of the public came to the rescue of the victims. Gopalakrishnan alias Hari, an engineer, said he, along with Mr. Ezhumalai, removed the bodies and placed them in a police van.

The relief seekers were critical of the manner in which tokens were issued to cardholders attached to fair price shops bearing numbers 26, 27 and 28. The distribution could have been staggered. As Sunday was a holiday, people were more anxious to get relief. "We had complained that the number of cards attached to shop number 26 was high. But no action was taken," said Mr. Ezhumalai.

Joint Commissioner of Police C. Sylendra Babu said police bandobust had been made. People forced open the gates, leading to the stampede. Deputy Commissioner S.N. Seshasai said police pickets were posted on Saturday night.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Twelve deaths in just one colony
Karunanidhi criticises State Government for the stampede
Eyewitnesses blame it on lack of crowd regulation
Victims caught between the gate and death
Is it a change for the better?
Online French course launched
Stampede: twelve deaths in just one colony
AIEEE 2006 is round the corner
Team work key to achieving the goal
Briefly

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu