The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Chiranjeevi addresses one of the largest meetings in A.P

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Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Chiranjeevi addresses one of the largest meetings in A.P

Special Correspondent

The 3,000-odd policemen have a tough time controlling the surging crowd

Ten lakh water sachets gulped down in an hour
Mild lathicharge against eager fans

TIRUPATI: Ten lakh water sachets were gulped down in just an hour by 2 p.m. at the ‘Praja Ankita Vedika’, the venue where Chiranjeevi addressed one of the largest public meetings in Andhra Pradesh in the recent past.

That speaks of the massive turnout of fans who were all ears to hear their darling hero. The actor made an instant connect with the cheering crowds by spending almost three minutes walking across the dais to wave at them.

Police resorted to a mild lathicharge to quell the eager fans when stones and slippers were thrown at them. Even a couple of hours before the meeting began, the venue was packed with milling crowds.

Barricades began crashing when people surged forward to get as close as possible to security ‘D’. But all those arrangements went haywire and people clambered onto anything that gave them a better view of the star on the dais. Fans climbed atop generator vans causing sparks in the wiring. The actor had to stop his speech midway for a while, as a generator had to be switched off. The actor’s brother, Nagendra Babu, singer Mano, popular newsreader Pragati, and others pleaded with the people to observe restraint.

As the time for the star to make his appearance neared, things only worsened forcing the cultural programmes to be suspended.

Volunteers got into action and started shifting the estimated 2,000 physically-challenged persons to safer places behind the dais. The over 3,000 policemen and an equal number of volunteers could do nothing, as the crowd swelled and inched closer to the dais.

From around noon, a couple of thousand physically-challenged persons were seated very close to the dais as a special gesture for them to have a close, uninterrupted view of the proceedings.

Rehearsal at Tirumala

Tirumala Staff

Reporter adds:

Mr. Chiranjeevi arrived at Tirumala on Tuesday morning along with wife Surekha and son Ram Charan Tej. The actor, who stayed in a posh guesthouse, confined himself to his suite until he set out on his journey to Avilala Tank, the public meeting venue.

Sources said former MP Yelamanchali Sivaji and cine script writer Bharavi helped him in rehearsing his address.

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