Madurai, April 16: Two people died as a huge crowd thronged Chithirai festival celebrations in Tamil Nadu's Madurai on Saturday. "Today Chithirai Festival started at 6:20 am, we made elaborate arrangements for crowd control. Despite this, a huge crowd thronged to watch the festival.

Because of intense suffocation, two people died when they were taken to hospital and 11 affected have been admitted to the hospital. The government will take undertake all their medical expenses and they are showing improvement," Minister P Murthy said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed deepest condolences to the families of victims and immediately ordered the CM's General Relief Fund to provide Rs 5 lakhs each to the families of the 2 deceased, Rs 2 lakhs to one seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakhs each for 7 people with a minor injury. The festival is celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai. It had been muted for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. As Part of the Chithirai Festival, Lord Kallazhagar Completed His Annual Journey.

Watch Video:

The Annual 'Chithirai' festival commenced on Tuesday last week with its traditional temple flag hoisting at Meenakshi Amman Temple. Chithirai Festival, also known as Chithirai Thiruvizha, Meenakshi Kalyanam or Meenakshi Thirukalyanam is the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar. The festival lasts for one month. The first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation of Meenakshi as the divine ruler of Madurai and her marriage to Sundareshwar.

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)