Relief centre becomes their grave

Thirteen-year-old Muthupandi’s wail said it all. His mother Thilakavathi was with him overnight in the pouring rain hoping to take home a token that would have fetched them Rs 2,000, a saree, a dhoti, 10 kg rice and a litre of kerosene. But fate willed otherwise. Thilakavathi died screaming in pain in front of her son when a huge crowd scrambled to get inside the school premises at 4 am.

In Annai Sathya Nagar, which had lost 12 residents to the stampede, the survivors found it very difficult to console one another.

Mixed feelings of sympathy and anger echoed at MGR Nagar even as many prepared to perform the last rites of their lost dear ones.

‘‘People started queuing up for flood relief money at midnight itself. The police then dispersed them saying that the relief would be distributed in the morning only. But then at 2 a.m. people started coming again in huge numbers,’’ said Jayaram, an onlooker. ‘‘There was a huge crowd waiting to get tokens for flood relief money. Suddenly when the gates were opened people rushed inside and many like me tripped and fell. Instead of helping us up, they trod over us. Then people had to throw stones at the rushing crowd to stop them,’’ said Murugammal who was injured in the stampede.

Locals complained that the police personnel were not posted in adequate numbers to manage the crowd. ‘‘There were only three policemen controlling a crowd of a thousand. Last month’s stampede at Vyasarpadi should have prompted more security measures. On Saturday too, there was a heavy rush. The police should have expected such an incident. Moreover none of the street lights were working,’’ said Vasanth of MGR Nagar.

Some also felt that for such a huge population, more relief centres should have been opened or the number of days be extended. There were also unsubstantiated complaints of officials demanding bribe to issue tokens. ‘‘They demand a bribe of Rs 200 – 500 for issuing one token. When we refuse they delay the relief money. We had to put up with such problems on Saturday,’’ claimed Chandran of Annai Sathya Nagar. There were some who blamed the local residents. ‘‘What was the necessity to gather there at 1 a.m. when the Government had made it clear that the relief will be distributed only from 9 a.m?,’’ questioned Rani, a resident of MGR Nagar.

Meanwhile, lying on a bed at the Government General Hospital’s Emergency Ward, Rajendran of Annai Sathya Nagar could not stop the tears.

Still in a state of shock, he haltingly narrated what had happened at the Arignar Anna Corporation High School in MGR Nagar.

‘‘People were being trampled to death right before my eyes. They fell to the ground and could not breathe as others fell on them. I was helpless. There were more than 40 people piled up over me,’’ he said breaking down.

‘‘When the gate of the school was opened, thousands of impatient people pushed into the compound. I was hit from behind and fell flat on the ground. Many fell on me and I saw people pushing ahead in frenzy. Luckily, I managed to survive.’’

Lakshmi (45), of Sathyamurthy Block, KK Nagar, was agitated. ‘‘It was the work of the men who were completely drunk. They created this unnecessary rush, which killed so many people. The authorities should also be blamed. We all went to collect the relief coupon on Saturday afternoon, but they did not give it to us. We are all domestic workers and cannot go to collect the coupons in the morning hours, but the authorities did not listen to our pleas. We were chased out by the police. They asked us to go home and come back by 7 am on Sunday. We did, only to see this dance of death,’’ she said.

The 19 injured admitted in the Emergency Ward do not have any major physical injuries.

‘‘It is not about the injuries that I have. They would heal in a few days. But I can never forget those eyes that asked for help moments before they closed forever, the cold grip of a dead man on my hand… For us, life will not be the same again. No one can forget those scene,’’ rued Murugan, another survivor.