Chennai: Kanchipuram Collector P Ponniah has appealed to elderly and sick people to avoid coming to have darshan of Athi Varadar as they will have to wait in the queue for 4-6 hours.
In an appeal that has been published in the media, the collector says the number of devotees and pilgrims coming to have darshan of Athi Varadar was increasing by the day. So, it is taking a minimum of 4-6 hours for people to have darshan, says the note.
This being the case, he has appealed (anbudan kettukollapadugirathu) to senior citizens who are weak, people who are unwell, pregnant women and people carrying babies, to avoid coming for the darshan as much as possible.
He explained that the district administration and other departments of government have been making all arrangements for smooth darshan during the Athi Varadar vaibhavam.
Despite all this, five persons have died so far due to various reasons at Kanchipuram during the vaibhavam. While on Thursday four people, one of them a woman, died of suffocation in the heavy crush of devotees, one person died yesterday.