On 18 February 1992, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa and her friend Sasikala had a holy dip in the tank at around 12:15 p.m. [8] [3] The proceeds were initiated by the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Mutt, Jayendra Saraswati. Tens of thousands of pilgrims had gathered, both for the holy dip and to witness the presence of the Chief Minister. [3]
Conflicting causes
There are conflicting reports on the cause of the stampede, according to official government statements released at the time, the stampede occurred due to the collapse of a grill and pillars on the northern bank of the tank, part of the Bangur Dharmashala compound. The enormous pressure of the crowd led to the collapse of this concrete superstructure, reportedly killing 15 people under the rubble, while others were crushed in the stampede while trying to flee as reported by the Press Trust of India. [9] Of the killed, 30 were reported to be women, three were children and the rest were men. Some of the newspapers reported the stampede took place soon after the chief minister reached the tank. [10] This is attributed by the fact that the stampede occurred 200 metres away from the special bathing ghat arranged for the chief minister. The whole accident occurred within a span of 5 minutes with pilgrims rushing up for a holy dip in auspicious time, and also for viewing the chief minister as reported by The Hindu on 19 February. Most newspapers also reported that the western and southern sides were cordoned off for security purposes and people could enter and exit only through the northern and eastern sides. Walter Devaram, the inspector-general of police is quoted as saying "a concrete superstructure of a building on the northern bank of the bank collapsed under the weight of those standing on it to watch the festival". [10] The final official number of victims stood at 50 [8] [11] with another 74 getting injured. [1]
However, contemporary and retrospective reporting by The Hindu and eyewitness accounts provide a different perspective. The Hindu reported on 19 February 1992 that the stampede began 200 metres from a special bathing ghat set up for Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Security arrangements for the Chief Minister had led to traditional exit routes being blocked: the eastern bank (where the CM bathed) had no exit, and much of the southern bank was cordoned off due to her convoy. As a result, the massive crowd entering through the northern and eastern banks had no viable exit routes, leading to dangerous overcrowding. [3]
A police barricade was placed near the Alamara Vinayagar Temple and the Navakanyamandapam on the northern bank. When pilgrims attempted to exit the overcrowded tank, they were prevented from moving in any direction by barricades. At this time, the police allegedly used lathis (batons) on the surging crowd, causing panic. A large section of the crowd attempted to scale an iron grill, which collapsed, adding to the chaos. Victims were trampled or suffocated, and according to some reports, several drowned in the tank contradicting official claims that no deaths were due to drowning. [3] In his 2024 memoir Munnar to Marina: The Journey, W.I. Davaram, then Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order), wrote that the tragedy was caused by the hasty descent of people from the northern bank, which was both an entry and an unauthorized exit point due to blockages elsewhere. This resulted in people entering and exiting the tank colliding, creating a bottleneck and chaos. [3]
