CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of devotees when they congregate in large numbers to take part in events such as the Chithirai Festival in Madurai.
The leader of the opposition in the Assembly was critical of the DMK regime, stating that because it did not take adequate measures, there had been fatal incidents in the past two years in various places, including the chariot accidents in Dharmapuri and Thanjavur and the five youths drowning during a temple ritual in Madipakkam in the city last month.
Observing that over 10 lakh people gather to witness Lord Kallazhagar enter the Vaigai river in Madurai district during the Chithirai festival every year, Palaniswami claimed that during the AIADMK rule precautionary measures were taken with the support of the police force so that even minor incidents would not take place.
However, during the Chithirai Festival held on May 5, 2023, three devotees had drowned in the temple tank while another individual died in a stampede and a youth was murdered near the temple entrance, Palaniswami said, adding that it had deeply saddened him.
It was the height of deterioration of law and order in the state when youths were seen dancing holding daggers during the Chithirai festival, Palaniswami alleged.
He said people were raising doubts about whether the police took action against those individuals and whether the intelligence department in Tamil Nadu was still ”functioning”.
The DMK government should take all the necessary precautionary measures during such temple festivals so that untoward incidents do not take place and all the devotees are safeguarded, he said.
