11 die after temple car hits high-voltage
electricity line in Tamil Nadu
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Chariot
of fire
REPORT ON PAGE 3
The charred chariot lying on the road in Kalimedu village.
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SINGAPORE, WEEKEND OF FRIDAY,
APRIL 29, 2022
MCI (P) 034/10/2021
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April29,2022
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Relatives gathering around the bodies of victims at a hospital.
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It was all over in a matter of minutes.
Before locals could realise what was
happening, 11 persons were electro-
cuted to death on Wednesday near
Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu after a tem-
ple chariot came in contact with a
high-voltage electricity transmission
line during a procession.
The dead included three children,
while 17 people were injured.
Witnesses said the Appar temple car
was negotiating a turn in Kalimedu
village when it hit the high-voltage
overhead line.
The people standing on the chariot
were flung to the ground by the impact
and several died instantly.
“People were flung, they flew from
the impact. I could see a man lying on
the ground and another one near
him,” an eye-witness told The New
Indian Express.
“The unfolding scene was frighten-
ing as we could not understand what
was happening.”
The chariot procession, decorated
with flowers and lights, is a century-
old practice. It is organised by the
villagers in memory of the Shaivite
saint Thirunavukarasar.
“Eight of those who died were
related to me,” 26-year-old villager R.
Jeeva told the Hindustan Times.
“The entire Kalimedu village is in
shock. This annual procession has been
happening for 103 years, and there
had never been any accidents till now.
“The festive mood turned into grief.
The son of the person who decorated
the chariot was charred beyond recog-
nition.”
According to Mr Jeeva, the proces-
sion usually starts after 11pm. The
chariot carrying the Appar deity goes
around the village, passing each of the
150 houses before it returns to the
temple.
The procession was almost ending
early Wednesday morning and the
chariot was making a turn at the end
of the road to return to the temple
when it toppled over a ditch and
touched the high-voltage wire.
The accident happened at 3am
when Mr Jeeva, who had broken a
coconut when the chariot passed his
house at 1am, had gone to sleep.
“Suddenly, I heard loud wailing and
when I went outside, my neighbours
were running and screaming,” he said.
“Four people who were sitting on
the chariot, including the priest, were
thrown off by the impact.
“Swaminathan, an old man who
had rushed to save them, touched one
of the victims and got electrocuted.
“A family has lost both the father
and son. Another young man is bat-
tling for his life in the hospital. Imag-
ine his mother’s plight.
“People here mostly work as either
farmers or coolies. They are all poor,
living hand to mouth. They had come
to pray to the deity.”
The locals believe the accident oc-
curred because the height of the main
road was raised by about 3.81cm two
years ago, reported The Hindu.
The procession did not take place
for two years during the pandemic and
the temple authorities had not taken
into account the raised height of the
main road.
The height of the chariot had also
gone up, with the extra decorations
and lighting forming a canopy atop the
idol.
A local man said the lights on the
top of the chariot and the collapsible
structure that supported it came in
contact with the overhead power line,
leading to electrocution.
“Obviously no one was sure from
where the electricity was originating
and how it was passing on. It was
mayhem,” a villager told The New
Indian Express.
Also, in keeping with the custom,
water was poured on the road and the
wet surface contributed in conducting
the electricity.
“When the wooden chariot caught
fire and some people poured water to
douse it, it worsened the electrocution
and added to the chaos.”
The chariot was eventually gutted.
“It was all over in a matter of
minutes but it took a while for us to
understand that people were dead and
many were injured,” said a villager.
Mr Raja, a 30-year-old eye-witness,
said the residents had made repeated
requests to the Electricity Board to
move the high-voltage power line from
the main road to the agricultural fields.
But their requests were not heeded.
The usual process is to switch off
supply to the power cables during the
procession or to deploy volunteers
armed with wooden poles to lift the
cables and ensure that they do not
pose a threat to the devotees.
Both those options were not exer-
cised on Wednesday, the local media
reported.
Tamil Nadu Central Zone Inspector-
General of Police V. Balakrishnan said
that, while power supply to the low-
tension cable remained suspended dur-
ing the procession, the high-tension
cable remained live.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.
Stalin rushed to the scene and visited
the injured at Thanjavur Medical Col-
lege. He later announced a monetary
compensation of Rs5 lakh to the fami-
lies of the dead and the setting up of a
special committee, headed by Revenue
Secretary Kumar Jayant, to investigate.
Indo-Asian News Service
“Eight of those who died were related to me. The entire
Kalimedu village is in shock. This annual procession has
been happening for 103 years, and there had never been
any accidents till now. The festive mood turned into grief.
The son of the person who decorated the chariot was
charred beyond recognition.”
– 26-year-old villager R. Jeeva
Lives snuffed out in minutes
INDIA
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