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Happy Street Turns Horror Street: Stampede, Groping, Children Go Missing At Govt-Organised ‘Happy Street Madurai’ Event

The Commune

The ‘Happy Street’ initiative of the Tamil Nadu government took a startling turn in Madurai when it turned into a horrendous experience for the public that had gathered at the event on 24 September 2023. The initiative which had been successfully celebrated in Chennai for several months involved the complete cessation of vehicular traffic on busy roads on Sundays, allowing various events and activities to take place. The programme garnered significant enthusiasm among the youth and various demographics. It was extended to cities like Coimbatore as well.

However, on Sunday, the ‘Happy Street’ event organised by the Madurai City Corporation in Anna Nagar, Madurai, turned into a “Horror Street” as several people were injured as a barricade collapsed, leading to a stampede. The crowd turnout was larger than expected and the event saw incidents of molestation, groping, stampede, injuries, children going missing, fainting, etc.

The event was attended by prominent figures, including the city Mayor, the Police Commissioner, DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, MLAs as well as Kollywood actor Soori.

In response to the escalating situation, authorities were forced to halt the event abruptly. The insensitivity displayed by the organisers during the unfolding of events only added to the public’s outrage. The organisers were found to be joking around the stampede that ensued, here they are heard saying “We know how you will dance, please allow space between each other and dance”

The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with citizens sharing harrowing accounts of their experiences during the event. One individual highlighted the distressing incidents of groping and molestation that took place in broad daylight. Shockingly, young girls and children were reportedly groped and molested, and some went missing in the crowd. As women and children fainted in the stampede, organisers appeared to be oblivious to the unfolding crisis.

This parent narrates her harrowing experience at the event, “We have been standing here since the start of the event, but we have been groped continually. There is no safety here. The boys are behaving very poorly, and even though the children/young girls are accompanied by their parents, they are subject to groping and molestation. Even the Chitrai Thiruvizha was not like this.”

In this video, the organisers are seen telling the public, “Treat them like your sisters, will you tear their dress like this? Don’t think anyone can get away everything is recorded” indicating that they were aware of the molestation and groping that was taking place and yet no proper measures were taken to handle the situation.

This incident has left many questioning the Tamil Nadu state government’s abilities and the lack of adequate infrastructure and administration. Many have questioned whether the administration has not learnt any lessons from the recent AR Rahman’s Marakkuma Nenjam concert fiasco. A similar stampede-like situation with incidents of molestation and children going missing, elders fainting/panic attacks were seen just a few weeks ago at the AR Rahman concert in Chennai. Even though that event was a privately organised one, the police were found to be lacking in their action against the organisers for allegedly overselling the tickets and the non-availability of basic emergency infrastructure like toilets and first-aid kits/ambulance, etc.

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