7 devotees killed in stampede during temple ceremony in TN
Tiruchirappalli(TN), Apr 21: A stampede during a local temple festival killed seven devotees and injured ten others near Thuraiyur, about 45 km from here, on Sunday, police said.
The tragedy occurred when hundreds of people gathered for the 'padikasu' (temple coin) distribution ceremony, held as part of annual 'Chithira Pournami' festival, at the 'Karuppasamy' (a rural deity) temple in Muthiampalayam village.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami expressed anguish over the loss of lives in the incident.
While Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the victims, Palaniswami ordered a solatium of Rs one lakh each and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
The stampede occurred when the priest started distributing the coins and a section of devotees surged forward to collect them, police said.
Seven people, including four women, died on the spot while ten others were seriously injured and have been hospitalised, they said.
Distribution of the coins is the main event of the festival, which draws a large number of devotees from in and around the village. Devotees believe keeping the temple coins at home in their cash box will bring prosperity.
A temple official, on condition of anonymity, said there was no effort to control the crowd nor was there enough security personnel to bring the situation under control.
District authorities said the matter was being looked into and action would be taken against those responsible for the mishap.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
