The recent death of a devotee at the Palani temple, attributed to inadequate crowd management at special auspicious occasions, has sparked concern. This incident follows similar tragedies at the Tiruchendur and Rameswaram temples. The devotee, who had come for darshan, suddenly fell ill while waiting in the long queue. Despite being promptly taken to a government hospital for medical treatment, he sadly did not survive.
The Palani Thandayuthapani Swamy Temple, one of the six sacred abodes of Lord Murugan, attracts thousands of devotees daily from Tamil Nadu and beyond. Selvamani (47) had recently visited Sabarimala before making his way to Palani with his friends. Instead of using the rope car or electric train service, he chose to climb the steps to the hill shrine. While waiting in the ₹10 darshan queue, he suddenly experienced breathing difficulties and lost consciousness. First aid was administered at the hilltop medical center before he was transported via rope car and ambulance to Palani Government Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Investigations revealed that Selvamani was the Mohanur East Union BJP leader. His sudden demise, following a visit to the Sabarimala temple before coming to Palani, has left his family and relatives in deep sorrow.
A similar tragedy occurred on 16 March 2025 at the Tiruchendur Murugan Temple when Om kumar, a textile businessman from Karaikudi in Sivaganga district, suffered a fatal incident while waiting in a queue for a special darshan ticket. Likewise, on 18 March, Raj Das, a devotee from Rajasthan, collapsed and passed away while standing in line for darshan at the Spatika Lingam in the Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram. The consecutive deaths of devotees at the Tiruchendur, Rameswaram, and Palani temples have deeply saddened pilgrims.
(With inputs from Asianet News)
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