Pall of gloom descends on Dharmapuri region

CHENNAI: When K Gokila from Mathikonepalayam in Dharmapuri district told her sons Bharanidaran, 10 and Sesugopal, 7 that their father R Kumaran will be back home on Saturday after undertaking a pilgrimage to Sabarimala in Kerala, they were eagerly waiting to receive prasadam from him. They were jubilant for other reasons also. The culmination of pilgrimage to Sabarimala would wipe away numerous restrictions at home including on watching television and visiting entertainment arenas.However, their joy was short lived. Their father, a farm hand was one among the seven persons, who were crushed to death in a stampede near Sabarimala in Kerala on the black Friday.
The situation of K Vediammal, a homemaker in the early 20s from the same place was far more pathetic. She was devastated to learn that her husband S Kalaimani, 29, a driver, who undertook the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, just two months after the birth of a baby boy, was killed.
A pall of gloom descended on Dharmapuri town and suburbs as soon as the news spread in the wee hours of Saturday and the bodies were received by their relatives.
Four deceased hailed from Mathikonepalayam in the town limits and one each from Kumarasamypettai, Maakkanur and Paparapatti in the suburbs. The deceased were identified as P Satish, 36 from Kumarasamipettai, R Kumaran, 40, S Kalaimani, 30, V Raghu, 50 and G Santhamoorthy, 22 from Mathikonepalayam, R Krishnan, 45 from Makkanur and C Ayyappan, 30 from Paparapatti in the district.
Kumaran had been undertaking pilgrimage for the past 15 years "He (Kumaran) is a pious man with great love for his family, " R Sakithvel, 43 the brother of the deceased told, The Times of India. The family was recovering after Kumaran faced severe loss in a transportation business.
Within a few days after the birth of his only son, Kalaimani decided to undertake the pilgrimage to thank the Almighty but met with a gory end. "My relatives including my brother Abhimannan and uncle (Kalaimani) left on January 9. My uncle was ecstatic after the birth of baby boy and he made it a point to undertake the pilgrimage for the fifth successive year. His dead came as a rude shock to us particularly his wife, who is yet to recover," M Venkatesan, a relative of the deceased, said.
Another victim G Santhamoorthy, 23, who had completed diploma in mechanical engineering, had planned to visit Chennai to hunt for a job after returning from the holy place. "Santhamoorthy was desperate to find a reasonably paid job and support the family," said his brother G Sathiamoorthy.
R Gauvri, 49 became the last surviving member of the family with the death of husband V Raghu. The couple who eked out a living by running a tea shop lost their son and daughter within a few days after their birth.