Yet another person died on Friday after visiting the Sri Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram for a darshan of Athi Varadar. The deceased has been identified as Arumugam from Chennai. Deaths of four devotees were recorded on Thursday.
A senior official of the Kancheepuram Collectorate said Arumugam, a resident of Virugambakkam, had a darshan and while coming out through the west gopuram, fainted near the Vahana Mandapam. Other devotees immediately called the 108 ambulance service and rushed the 72-year-old to the Kancheepuram Government Hospital, where he was pronounced brought dead.
A senior official of the Kancheepuram district police said the devotee had visited the temple alone and policemen and other devotees rushed him to the hospital when he fainted. Initial investigation has revealed that Arumugam died of cardiac arrest. The body has been kept for post-mortem.
Crowd management
With an average of more than one lakh devotees visiting the temple daily during weekdays, the district administration has been finding it difficult to control the crowd. The Health Department of the district has been running health camps at several places around the temple to help senior citizens and other devotees. Water is also being distributed by volunteers.
The four persons who died on Thursday were suffering from health issues, according to the State government. The temple witnessed a huge turnout of more than 2 lakh people on Thursday because of Shravanam, which is supposed to be auspicious.
The death of devotees was raised in the Assembly, with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announcing a solatium of ₹1 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
