A day after the stampede at Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) founder Vijay’s rally in the historical city of Karur left 40 people dead and several injured, Congress’s Karur MP Jothimani speaks to The Indian Express about the tragedy, its probable causes, and the way ahead to prevent such incidents. Excerpts:

* What do you think went wrong?

What is unfolding before us is a tragedy of huge magnitude. Those who lost their lives were all poor people. I have spoken to those injured. They told me they had gathered around 9 am. They were told that he (Vijay) would come at around noon, but he landed only at around 5 or 6 pm. So, they were waiting for nearly nine hours without water while being cramped in that space. Some of them may have fainted as the crowd was huge, and nobody noticed who fainte

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