Karur stampede exposes ugly face of roadshow politics; is anyone listening?

Universally, road shows are a time-tested tool deployed by the political class for mass mobilisation.

In Tamil Nadu, where there is a symbiotic relationship between cinema and politics, people worship cine stars and repose an unexplainable faith and affection in them. But they would have never imagined the kind of death and destruction it could lead to, as witnessed in Karur, a textile hub 384 km from Chennai.

Forty-one people were killed, hundreds injured, and families left devastated when a stampede broke out on Saturday (September 27) around a modified caravan, from the rooftop of which Vijay, their superstar, was addressing them.

Deadliest of all

The state has witnessed stampedes in the past, but this was the deadliest of them all. It left a deep scar in the hearts and minds of people as a celebratory moment suddenly turned tragic, snuffing out the lives of young adults, especially women, children, and even an infant.

Also read: Karur stampede: A rally that stole children, mothers and faith in a star

Condolences and condemnations poured in as the state government mounted rescue operations. Ambulances and hospitals were alerted in Karur and its neighbouring districts. Paramedics and first responders took control of the situation, as Tamil Nadu has fairly good private and public health infrastructure. Unfortunately, most stretchers that were wheeled into emergency care carried patients who were declared dead on arrival.

There isn’t a single cause. A series of missteps contributed to the disaster, which, perhaps in hindsight, was waiting to happen.

Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a Rs 10 lakh compensation to the families of the dead and Rs 1 lakh for the injured. Actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay doubled the solatium and offered Rs 20 lakh to the dead and Rs 2 lakh to the injured. The Centre pitched in too, announcing Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for the victims. Stalin announced a one-member judicial commission to probe the incident. The lingering question remained, what caused the mishap?

Glaring lapses at Vijay events

There isn’t a single cause. A series of missteps contributed to the disaster, which, perhaps in hindsight, was waiting to happen.

This was Vijay's fifth major outing after he announced the formation of his political party, TVK, last year. The first two were annual events organised on large grounds, marking the foundation day of the party. The last three were part of a series of road rallies he planned to undertake every Saturday to cover all regions of the state in the run-up to the Assembly polls due in six months.

All the five events ended in chaos — more than expected crowd turned up; there were water and food shortages; the fans including women and children waited for long hours in the scorching sun; many suffered from dehydration; the crowds were unruly, some even drunk; indisciplined fans climbed on all available vantage points to have a glimpse of their star, which included electric polls, trees and transformers; the police was overwhelmed and struggled to maintain law and order.

Also read: ‘Repeated TVK failures ended in Karur stampede’: Lensman recalls ‘pattern of chaos’

Govt, TVK ignored HC rap

The first two meetings raised an alarm. The issue reached the Madras High Court. The presiding judge flagged security lapses in TVK rallies and raised a question: who would bear the responsibility if lives were lost?

There are at least seven developments that led to the tragedy in Karur. They raise questions that the state administration and Vijay’s TVK must answer.

TVK officials complained that the administration wasn’t doing enough compared to DMK events. Authorities blamed Vijay fans, saying they were unruly and this was exerting pressure on the administration.

Though there is an element of truth in the arguments presented by both sides, had they followed up on the judge's prescient remarks, the tragedy may have been averted. Both sides left the issues unattended, underlining their myopic approach, fuelled by political rivalry—one to retain power and the other to wrest power— forgetting the very people whom they promise to serve.

7 key triggers to stampede

There are at least seven developments that led to the tragedy in Karur. They raise questions that the state administration and Vijay’s TVK must answer. They are:

One: The first rally on Saturday (September 27) was supposed to start at 8.45 am in Namakkal, a transport hub 39 km from Karur. The crowd had begun to gather from the early hours, around 3 am. But Vijay boarded his special aircraft from Chennai at around 9 am only. He flew to Trichy and took a 90-minute drive to reach Namakkal. As a result, the first meeting could only take place at 2.30 pm. Why this delay?

Also read: TVK rally tragedy: Power outage, 'sabotage' or sheer 'irresponsibility'?

Two: Vijay was next supposed to address the meeting in Karur at 12 pm. Instead, it started at 7.30 pm. He reached the outskirts of the city around 7 pm. Police ushered his caravan into the cramped city road (40 feet in width) with great difficulty. While a large crowd waited on the Velusamy Puram road, the scene of the stampede, more fans tailed him from the highway. Workers from nearby factories joined in, too. Why didn’t the administration or Vijay think of calling off the meeting?

Three: The crowd estimated by the TVK was 10,000, but it swelled, according to the police, to 27,000. As Vijay began his address, fans climbed onto available vantage points. A tree branch broke, allegedly causing a brief power outage, and the sound system failed. The crowd surged forward to see and listen to the star. The Wi-Fi failed, and cell phones were working intermittently as fans tried to live-stream the event. Why did both Vijay and the police intelligence fail to gauge the crowd size? Almost everyone holds a mobile phone — couldn't the triangulation method be used to determine the real-time crowd count and behavior?

Watch | The Federal team reconstructs how tragedy struck Vijay’s Karur rally

Four: Women, children, and even men began to faint due to asphyxiation as a panicked crowd was swaying. Vijay made an announcement about a missing nine-year-old girl and went down the lift into his van, cutting short his speech abruptly. Everyone by then knew that something was amiss. Why didn’t TVK’s office bearers stay back and try to manage the situation?

While the slugfest is on, the political class and the EC must seriously examine banning the practice of roadshows that disturb normal life. Rallies should be held in specified places, maybe outside the city.

Five: The crowd had begun to jostle for space amid cries of help. In fact, the ambulances had begun to move in even while Vijay started speaking. As they arrived, the police had to resort to a mild lathi charge to clear the road for the vehicles. This perhaps added to the melee and stampede. More people fainted. One side of the road was blocked because of Vijay's parked caravan. With ambulances moving in from the other side of the road, the crowd got further squeezed. Who requisitioned the ambulances?

Also read: Vijay's Karur rally: 'Long waits, poor crowd management triggered stampede'

Six: Earlier, someone from the crowd threw slippers at Vijay. His bodyguards stopped the missiles from hitting him. TVK sources say this was a conspiracy aimed at discrediting the star. Who were the miscreants? The local administration and police would have clearly identified them. Were there any preventive arrests or measures taken to prevent such an eventuality?

Seven: TVK says it followed the instructions of the police. The administration says the newly-formed party could not discipline its cadres. DMK sources argue that when AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami addressed a crowd from the same spot last week, nothing unusual happened; it was Vijay’s excited fans who could not be contained. Clearly, the two crowds behaved differently. Why wasn’t this anticipated?

Political slugfest ensues

The TVK has approached the court, saying it fell victim to a conspiracy. The BJP and the AIADMK are faulting the DMK government, saying it failed to provide adequate security. The government, in its defence, says it had deployed more than adequate police force, the administration did not disconnect power, and the location was chosen with TVK’s concurrence, and that the delayed arrival of the star resulted in a swelling crowd.

Also read: Karur stampede: Annamalai visits victims, blames TN govt, defends Vijay

While the slugfest is on, the political class must seriously examine banning the practice of roadshows that disturb normal life. Rallies should be held in specified places, maybe outside the city.

Once the elections dates are announced, the Election Commission (EC) should revisit the Model Code of Conduct, devise strict guidelines and prevent campaigning methods that get in the way of ordinary citizens. When highways and interior roads are blocked for rallies, emergency services get hit, and people miss flights, trains and other services as everything comes to a grinding halt.

Democracy could be noisy and chaotic, but at what cost?