INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PM Modi visited the injured in hospital after the canopy collapse in Midnapore
collapsed on a section of the crowd in the middle of his speech, in what is being described as a major security breach
PM Modi appeared emotional when he visited the injured in hospital, reported news agency ANI.The cast iron columns were put up to shelter
the crowd from rain at the rally in Midnapore
As a portion of the huge tent started collapsing, he stopped his speech to urge people to be safe and ordered his security personnel to take
"Those who have climbed up, please get down, all of you.please climb down
Those standing up there, please get down
Don't run," PM Modi appealed, asking people to get off the stage and the poles.The injured were taken to hospital on motorcycles and even by
the Prime Minister's doctor, Special Protection Group personnel and on an ambulance that follows his convoy.The BJP's IT cell in-charge
Amit Malviya tweeted that an injured woman asked the PM for an autograph and he obliged.It had been raining heavily since morning and was
drizzling at the time the tent collapsed in the afternoon
The shaky structure was weakened further as people tried to climb the poles for a glimpse of the prime Minister.Many of the injured are
collapsed under its own weight
"There were so many enthusiastic people
Just like booth jam, people were not allowed to come to the rally," he said.Officials called the incident a major security lapse and
questioned whether the event and its venue was cleared after a government structural engineer's go-ahead."Over Rs 350 crore is spent each
year on the PM's security and if the venue of the most protected person is not structurally secured," an official said.(With inputs from
