A deadly stampede at a political rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district on Saturday was not a sudden catastrophe but a disaster shaped by a cascade of poor planning and critical errors, as reports reveal. The event, which left 41 people dead, exposed a fatal mismatch between crowd expectations and on-ground management.
A recipe for crowd chaos
The tragedy was set in motion hours before the first person fell. The rally’s headliner, TVK president and actor Vijay, was scheduled to arrive between noon and 1 pm. He did not reach the venue until 7 pm.
This six-hour delay caused the crowd at Velusamypuram to swell far beyond the venue's capacity. Supporters had gathered from 11 am, with the atmosphere turning carnivalesque. The weekend timing meant many women attended with their children.
As evening fell, the situation intensified. Scores of workers from local textile and mosquito net units, having just finished their shifts, streamed into the area. A social worker from Thavittupalayam, S Vijayan, cited by TOI, said that Saturday was payday, leading to higher attendance at work units and consequently, a much larger turnout at the rally.
A venue stretched beyond its limits
Compounding the delay was the choice of venue. According to the TOI report, TVK had initially sought permission for locations with a capacity for 10,000 people. Police, however, directed them to Velusamypuram, a site used by the AIADMK just days prior.
The crowd that gathered was estimated to be 50,000, hopelessly overwhelming the space. A Karur resident, Stiffen Babu, described the Velusamypuram location as a straight road with only narrow exit routes, making dispersal in an emergency nearly impossible.
This claim about the venue's unsuitability was countered by ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham. He stated that the previous AIADMK event had been orderly and concluded smoothly. The ADGP further alleged that police had requested TVK to change venues due to the surging crowd but claimed the party did not cooperate.
The final trigger
The immediate trigger for the panic was a confluence of factors. A frenzied contingent of fans following Vijay’s convoy from his previous campaign stop in Namakkal merged with the already massive crowd, packing the four-lane Karur-Erode stretch.
Unlike typical political rallies, there was no dedicated, cordoned-off area for the campaign vehicle. When Vijay’s vehicle finally waded through the throng, it displaced people on the road, squeezing those on the sides and triggering a commotion.
Then, the lights went out. The crowd, surging forward, spilled into a shed housing a generator for the floodlights. The power cut plunged the area into darkness, creating the first wave of chaos.
In the ensuing panic, a part of a tree in front of a commercial complex broke and fell onto a shed. An eyewitness said this caused people, mostly youths, to fall onto women and children standing below. Police confirmed the deaths occurred at two separate spots, both within metres of the campaign vehicle.
Darkness, desperation and denial
In the darkness, people ran helter-skelter to find safety. The rush between 7 pm and 7.30 pm turned into a fatal stampede. All the while, as reported by TOI, high-decibel songs continued to blare from the speakers, oblivious to the tragedy unfolding.
A resident of Veluswamypuram, recounted the grim scene, saying that many people died on the spot. Vijay and TVK functionaries reportedly threw water bottles, assuming that people had fell unconscious.
The aftermath was one of chaos and heartbreak, with families rushing to hospitals to locate their loved ones. The event, intended as a show of political strength, instead became a stark lesson in the deadly consequences of crowd mismanagement.
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