Actor Vijay Transfers Rs 20 Lakh to Karur Stampede Victims, Urges Cadre To Skip Diwali Celebrations

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, led by actor-politician Vijay, announced that it has credited Rs 20 lakh to each of the 39 families affected by the Karur stampede that left 41 dead in Tamil Nadu. While the actor had planned to meet the victims' families in person and distribute the ex-gratia after consoling them, he had decided to ensure the relief amount reached them first, a TVK functionary said and added other affected families too would receive the ex-gratia."The money, Rs 20 lakh each, has been sent to 39 families, totalling to Rs 7.8 crore," the party said in a post on the social media platform X. The sum was directly credited to the bank accounts of the affected families, the party said.Many factors, including crowd swelling,

contributed to the stampede that claimed 41 lives at actor-politician Vijay's rally. Following the tragedy, questions were raised over safety arrangements at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president's political event. TVK had announced it would provide Rs 20 lakh in relief to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured."The TVK members had obtained my bank account details for crediting Rs 20 lakh. Accordingly, the amount was transferred to my account today," Selvarani, who lost her daughter in the stampede that claimed 41 lives, told reporters in Karur, PTI reported.

TVK urges mellow Diwali celebrations to party cadre

In the aftermath of the Karur stampede, TVK on Saturday advised its cadres not to celebrate Diwali. In a post on X, TVK propaganda joint secretary Loyola Mani conveyed the advice of Vijay to party cadres. "Based on the advice of Vijay, we should avoid celebrating Deepavali to pay homage to the deceased,” Mani wrote on X.The TVK would adopt the families of the victims and support them in education and employment as long-term measure, the party had earlier announced. Vijay reiterated his support to the affected families and said he would definitely meet them once he obtained permission from the authorities."We are deeply saddened by the unbearably painful incident that occurred in Karur and are mourning the loss of our family members. We assure you once again that we will be there to comfort and support you in every way possible in this situation," Vijay said in a letter.He further said, "As already announced on September 28, the TVK had sent Rs 20 lakh each to the victims' family through RTGS today. We kindly request you to accept it. With God's grace, we will get through this difficult time.(With PTI inputs)