30 suffer electric shock at Athi Varadhar temple

Several lakhs of people thronged the temple from early morning on the 38th day of Athi Varadhar festival. The footfall crossed four lakh on Tuesday and it is expected to increase further as the festival is coming to an end on August 17. 

The district Collector had earlier said that devotees should be prepared to wait for one whole day to see Athi Varadhar as the crowd is huge.

On Wednesday, around 3.30 pm, devotees in the VIP queue suffered an electric shock and nearly 30 of them suffered burns while a few fell unconscious. 

Sources said that Kumar (52) from Virugambakkam, Sundararajan (74) from Kanyakumari, Vasantha (66) from Kanyakumari, Jai Shantha (67) from Andhra Pradesh, Selvamani (20), Vasantha (76) and Revathi (32) from Kanyakumari and Sarala (40) from Chennai lot consciousness and were rushed to medical desks inside the temple.

Officials said that a snapped live wire which came in contact with a barricade was the reason for the electric shock. Following the incident, the district administration decided to cancel VIP darshan and asked the devotees to come on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Lakshmanan from Pollachi fell unconscious on Wednesday morning while waiting in the queue. Though he was rushed to Kancheepuram government hospital, he was declared dead due to sudden cardiac arrest.

The crowd is expected to increase in the coming days as the festival, which is held once in 40 years, is coming to an end. More than 50 lakh people have visited Kancheepuram during the festival so far.

To reduce the stress on students in Kancheepuram due to Athi Varadhar festival, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced three-day local holiday for schools and colleges in Kancheepuram town.

The Chief Minister conducted a review meeting with Ministers and top bureaucrats to discuss the steps taken for safety of the devotees visiting the temple. As the festival is set to conclude on Agust 17, the footfall is expected to increase.

In view of the crown in the town, Palaniswami declared local holiday for students on August 13, 14 and 16. Adding in the holidays for Independence Day and Bakrid, the educational institutions will be closed for a total of nine continuous days.

The Chief Minister also directed the officials to make parking arrangements at schools and colleges for vehicles coming from outside the district and also to open the educational institutions for devotees to take rest. Officials were also directed to arrange rest areas for differently-abled persons and senior citizens.

The Chief Minister further announce special funds for Kancheepuram municipality. “As it took care of the arrangements well, the municipality incurred high expense and the State government will compensate the Municipality for its good work,” he said. Similarly, HR&CE workers who were deployed to ensure smooth run of the festival would get special incentives from the government, the Chief Minister said.

Meanwhile, two additional EMU special services would be run between Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu from August 7 to 18. The train will start from Kancheepuram at 10 pm and reach Chengalpet at 11.5 pm. The EMU from Chengalpet will leave at 4.45 am and reach Kacheepuram at 5.30 am.