Home Minister G Parameshwara condoles loss of lives in Karur stampede

TUMAKURU: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the Karur stampede in which 39 people were killed and several others were injured.

Speaking in Tumakuru, he said that it is unfortunate that such a tragedy has happened during a political rally in the country.

“More security should have been provided for such programs. I do not know how the organizers and security were organized for that program, and I cannot comment on it…It is not right for me to comment without knowing about that incident. He said that more security has been taken for the program to be held in Tumkur for the Tumkur Dasara program,” Parameshwara said.

Earlier, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the Karur stampede in Tamil Nadu that killed 39 people, and said such tragedies highlight flaws in the country’s crowd management.

Tharoor said it is heartbreaking to see such tragedies happen repeatedly and urged both the central and state governments to create strict rules and safety protocols for large gatherings to prevent future incidents.

Speaking to the reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor said, “… Its a very tragic and painful situation. Something is wrong in our country with crowd management. Every year, there seems to be an incident. We remember Bengaluru. It is very heartbreaking when we hear children being killed in these stampedes… For me, the argument is about what can we do as a systematic policy nationally to protect ordinary people. People go in a spirit to listen to a politician who happens to be a movie star, or to see cricketers, who are also stars for us, the basic thing should be that there should be certain rules, standards, and protocols in place…”

“At the same time I earnestly appeal to the central government and all state governments to agree on a set of very strict procedures governing all large crowds in any circumstances so that we do not needlessly suffer the grief and anguish of loved ones being lost in these terrible stampedes,” Tharoor added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the families of the 39 people who died in the Karur stampede would receive two lakh rupees each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

PM Modi also announced an amount of Rs 50,000 each for the people injured in the tragic incident.

Sharing an X post, PMO said, “PM Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate incident at a political rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.” (ANI)