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    Vacation with grannies turns tragic

    Had my son not insisted on visiting his grandmother’s place on Sunday night, he would still be alive, rued three-year-old Sanjay’s mother Durga Devi, who was waiting to receive his body along with bodies of her mother, grandmother, and niece, at the morgue at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMCH).

    Vacation with grannies turns tragic
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    Grieving family members anxiously wait for fire and rescue personnel (Photo: Manivasagan N)

    Chennai

    “My mother and grandmother were planning our annual pilgrimage for our family deity – Nagathamman. They would fast for a specific time, and they were to perform the ritual of wearing the mala as part of the pilgrimage on Monday. 

    At 10 pm, he wanted to visit his grandmothers. I dropped him off for the night. I never thought that it would be the last time I would see him,” Durga Devi told DTNext. Durga’s niece, Sandhiya too preferred to stay over with the grandparents. 

    An inconsolable Durga Devi remembered as to how her mother and grandmother used to pamper her children and her nephews as and when the children went there. Since it was vacation, the children insisted on staying with Meenakshi and Selvi at least in the night if not in the day. Both the sexagenarian and her daughter would compete with each other in keeping the children engaged with activities, which made the children love them even more. 

    “Sanjay is a very active kid. He is more talkative than many of the neighbours in our apartment. He is a friendly kid too. So is Sandhiya, his cousin, who are among the deceased,” recalled a neighbour, who was there at the KMCH. Selvi’s son Ayyappan, who suffered 60 per cent burns, was being treated at the KMCH. 

    The others who suffered burns and were being treated at the KMCH include Thangam, (22), Martin, (24), Anthoni, (14), Pachaiyammal, (60), Vijayalakshmi, (41), Sridhar, (60), Dheena Dayalan, (33), Velamman, (64), Nagalakshmi, (44), and Hariprasad, (17). 

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