TIRUVANNAMALAI: A 63-year-old woman died in a stampede at a PDS (public distribution system) shop at
Inamkariyandhal in
Tiruvannamalai district of
Tamil Nadu on Monday.
The woman, identified as Dhanabakiyam, was waiting to buy her monthly provisions. According to police, the stampede happened when the
ration card holders – mostly women – moved forward.
Later, Dhanabakiyam, who was caught in the stampede, was found lying unconscious on the floor.
She was rushed to Government Tiruvannamalai Medical College and Hospital where she was declared brought dead.
The Tiruvannamalai taluk police registered a case.
Vijayalakshmi, a villager, said though the PDS outlet at Inamkariyandhal catered to more than 900 ration holders from three nearby villages, it was opened only twice a month. “Officials should take steps to open the outlet every day or they should open more PDS outlets in each village to avert such tragedies,” she said.
However, taluk supply officer K Sumathi denied the allegation that the shop opened twice a month.
Sumathi said there were around 200 ration card holders at the shop when the woman was found unconscious.
“Preliminary inquiries revealed that the woman had skipped her breakfast. She fell unconscious while standing in a queue,” the officer said.