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Eleven people, including three minors, died early on Wednesday morning after being electrocuted during a temple procession at Appar Swamy temple at Kalimedu in Thanjavur. The accident took place after the temple chariot that was being dragged by devotees came into contact with a high voltage electricity wire.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who left Chennai to meet the injured at Thanjavur, announced Rs 5 lakh as solatium from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund to the families of the deceased. The state assembly observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to those who had lost their lives.
Even as condolence messages poured in from across the country – President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana and Puducherry Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed grief over the tragedy – the chief minister directed the district administration and senior police officials to expedite rescue work.
PM Modi also announced Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of those who lost their lives. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.
School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Thanjavur District Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver, Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, Tiruchirapalli V Balakrishnan and other officials reached the spot to conduct an enquiry.
Inspector General Balakrishnan said the temple procession, an annual event, met with the accident when the chariot lost balance and its top came in contact with the high tension wire. “We are also investigating whether it was due to the ‘arc of influence’. We have registered an FIR to find the exact cause of this accident,” he said.
The injured are currently undergoing treatment at Thanjavur Government Medical College and Hospital. The deceased have been identified as Mohan (22), Prathap (36), Raghavan (24), Anbazhagan (60), Nagaraj (60), Selvam (56), Swaminathan (56), Govindaraj (45) and three minors between 13-15 years of age.
The temple event is a three-day festival with a chariot procession on the first day. As per witnesses, the procession began around 12.30 am on Wednesday and the accident took place around 3 am. Locals said there was water on the road as people had poured water on the feet of those who were part of the procession. Others claimed that the road had been re-laid recently and its height had increased by a few inches, alleging that this could have caused the mishap.
While Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi tweeted his anguish over the mishap, Telangana and Puducherry Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed her condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran said apart from providing the relief, the government should also enquire and find the cause of the accident.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said a big team of medical experts has been deployed to monitor those injured. “We have directed the doctors to complete the post-mortem process of those who died in the accident soon and hand over their bodies to the family,” he said.
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