Thousands of people thronged the final resting place of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at the Marina on Sunday, resulting in several traffic snarls.
With school holidays and Christmas on Sunday, the memorial of former Chief Minister witnessed chaotic scenes with people trying to break through the barricades and stepping on the lawns at the site, before police stepped in to control the large crowd. The police resorted to a hold and release strategy allowing small groups of people into the memorial to prevent any untoward incident.
“I came here at 3 p.m. It is now 6 p.m. I was only able to visit her memorial as I was given a holiday for Christmas,” Mary, a household help, who was still waiting in the queue said.
A policeman on duty said: “The memorial has been extremely crowded since morning. Unlike other Sundays, more people have come here today.”
People also came from far off places such as Tiruchi and Kumbakonam. Some groups even came with banners, as a show of support to the late leader. At the exit point of the MGR memorial, a person was seen distributing free photographs of Jayalalithaa to visitors.
Towards the evening, the road was chock-a-block with traffic. A traffic policeman manning a counter making announcements about buses said more buses were brought in to help the crowd.
“Normally about 200 buses operate. We have asked for additional services. So far, 200 more have been pressed into service. We have asked for 50 more,” he said.
