Mahamaham stampede
Mahamaham Stampede was a disaster that occurred during the
The Tank and the Mahamaham festival
The Tank is located in the heart of Kumbakonam town. It covers an area of 6.2 acres and is trapezoidal in shape. The tank is surrounded by 16 small Mandapams (shrines) Masimaham is an annual event that occurs in the
Stampede
On 18 February 1992, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha and her friend Sasikala had a holy dip in the tank at around 12:15 p.m.
Aftermath
The Government of Tamil Nadu announced a compensation of one lakh (100,000) rupees[11] for the deceased, which included a sum of 30,000 rupees given by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party that ruled the state that time. It was widely criticised by the media that a government announcement was made together with a party announcement.[citation needed]
On 18 February, after much demands for a judicial enquiry, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced a magisterial enquiry with the additional collector heading it.[9] On 20 February, the government issued a detailed press note indicating [9]
- the arrangements for the 1992 festival were the same as that of 1968 and 1980. The entry of pilgrims were allowed from the northern and southern sides and exits from the eastern and western sides.
- that "the unfortunate situation developed when a grill over the compound wall abutting the Bangur Dharmashala and the pillars collapsed on the northern tank owing to the enormous pressure of people who had assembled on both sides of the compound wall".
- that the Bangur Dharmashala was used by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a Hindu party, as a clinic and for distributing food packets.
- that the food packets were thrown out to the pilgrims, resulting in the initiation of the crowd causing the grill and concrete to break, resulting in the stampede.
- that there was not a single death due to drowning in the tank
- that the allegation that the stampede occurred on account of lathicharge was totally baseless as no lathi charge was made throughout the festival.
- that the incident took place at 1:00 p.m. long after the chief minister left the place at around 12:15 p.m.
- that the chief minister's enclosure was very small one being 20' X 12' and the newspaper reports of lathicharge on people eagerly viewing the chief minister leading to stampede is malicious.
- finally the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was making unfounded allegations as it wanted to take credit of the smooth conduct of the festival.
2004 event
The Mahamaham event of 2004 passed off without any mishaps. The state government spent nearly 50 crores (
See also
- 2004 Kumbakonam School Fire
Notes
- ^ a b B.K. 2005, p. 190
- ^ "60 Hindus Die in Festival Crush". Reuter, Mohan Narvaria. London, England: The Independent. 16 July 1996. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2013 – via HighBeam.
- ^ Bansal 2008, p. 126
- ^ a b c d International Dictionary of Historical Places 1996, p. 503
- ^ V. 1995, p.120
- ^ a b S. 2004, p. 240
- ^ a b c d The Indian Express, 8 March 2004
- ^ a b "Houston Chronicle Archives". Chron.com. 18 February 1992. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ JSTOR 4397722.
- ^ Vanita 2005, p.258
- ^ Thol 2004, p. 14
- ^ Government of Tamil Nadu G.O. (4D) No.8, 15 Oct 2003
- ^ a b c The Telegraph, 2004
- ^ a b "3,000 Railway police personnel for Mahamaham". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 18 February 2004. Archived from the original on 11 September 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ "Mahamaham preparations should be documented". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 March 2004. Archived from the original on 22 April 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ "Live telecast". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 27 February 2004. Archived from the original on 1 May 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
References
- Bansal, Sunita Pant (2008). Hindu Pilgrimage: A Journey Through the Holy Places of Hindus All Over India. Delhi: Hindology Books. ISBN 978-81-223-0997-3.
- B.K., Khanna (2005). All You Wanted To Know About Disasters. New Delhi: New India Publishing Agency. ISBN 978-81-89422-13-4.
- "G.O. (4D) No.8". The Government of Tamil Nadu. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- Venkatesh, M.R. (6 March 2004). "Hi-tech rein on pilgrims". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 May 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- International Dictionary of Historical Places (1996). International Dictionary of Historical Places - Middle East and Africa, Vol.5. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4039-7038-1.
- S., Gajarani (2004). History, Religion and Culture of India, Vol.3. New Delhi: Isha Books. ISBN 978-81-8205-061-7.
- Thol, Thirumaavalavan; Meena Kandaswamy (2004). Uproot Hindutva: the fiery voice of the liberation panthers. Kolkata. ISBN 978-81-85604-79-4.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - V., Vriddhagirisan (1995). Nayaks of Tanjore. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0996-9.
- Vanita, Ruth (2005). Love's rite: same-sex marriage in India and the West. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7038-1.
- Venkatesh, M.R. (8 March 2004). "VHP scare at holy dip". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 20 March 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2011.