Chennai: The rush of pilgrims at sacred and renowned temples can at times be dangerous.
A family learnt it the hard way and paid a heavy price as an 11-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu died due to a heart ailment while waiting in a queue for darshan at Kerala’s Sabarimala temple.
The girl, who collapsed amid the heavy rush, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The young girl had been battling a heart disease since the age of three. It got aggravated in the suffocating and chaotic ambience as hundreds of people looked to enter the Sabarimala temple.
The Sabarimala temple has been experiencing an overwhelming surge of devotees, with some of them waiting for 12 to 18 hours for darshan.
Due to the huge waiting time, many lose patience, breaching the queue and jumping over barricades.
This adds to the chaos, leading to an uncontrollable rush near the holy steps.
Kerala Devaswom minister K Radhakrishnan and Travancore Devaswom Board president PS Prasanth have convened an emergency meeting to find ways to deal with escalating crowds.
A decision was taken to reduce the virtual queue booking limit by 10,000, with the maximum being made 80,000 per day.
Kerala Health minister Veena George announced deployment of a special rescue ambulance service, Kanivu 108, at Sannidhanam to ensure immediate medical attention in case of emergencies.
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