Tamil Nadu: Seven persons were seriously injured after a towering 60-foot temple chariot overturned during the annual Mayana Kollai festival on the banks of the Palar River in Vellore district.
All the injured were taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Adukkamparai for treatment.
The accident occurred around midnight when the chariot, belonging to Kazhinjur near Katpadi, was being pulled from the riverbed back onto the road following the ritual procession. As it was being manoeuvred uphill, the massive structure reportedly went off balance and tipped to one side, trapping nearly 10 people underneath.
Police personnel and local residents rushed to the spot and launched rescue efforts, pulling out those stuck beneath the wooden structure. The seriously injured were immediately shifted to the government hospital.
District Collector Subbulakshmi, Superintendent of Police Sivaraman and Revenue Divisional Officer Senthil Kumar inspected the accident site. The Collector later visited the hospital to meet the injured and review their condition. Authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident and directed festival organisers to take preventive measures to avoid such mishaps in the future.
Mayana Kollai is one of the major annual festivals in Vellore district and was held on the Palar riverbank on Sunday evening. As part of the celebrations, idols from 10 villages were adorned, mounted on temple chariots and taken in procession to the riverbed, where devotees performed customary rituals and offerings.
After the chariot capsized, villagers from Kazhinjur removed the idol from the fallen structure and carried it back to their village.
As per government norms, temple chariots are not permitted to exceed 12 feet in height. However, during the Mayana Kollai festival, chariots from Virudhambattu, Kazhinjur and Mottur are said to reach heights of around 60 feet. A similar incident had taken place in 2023, when a chariot from Mottur village fell into the Palar riverbed during the festival.
(With ANI inputs)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
