A devotee, who climbed up Vindhyagiri to take part in the anointing ceremony of Lord Gomateshwara, died of massive heart attack on Sunday evening. Anantharaju (58), an employee with South Western Railway office in Mysuru, suffered heart attack near the scaffolding around 5 p.m. and was rushed to the health clinic set up atop the hill. Despite the efforts of the health staff, he could not be saved.
B.R.Yuvaraj, Administrative Health Officer of the Community Health Centre at Shravanabelgola, said, “Anantharaju had come alone and he climbed up the footsteps to reach the hilltop. His family members were informed later. A post-mortem was also done late in the night”. According to the doctor, he had a massive heart attack after he climbed over 640 steps. By the time he was rushed to the clinic, he was gasping and died in a few minutes.
The Health and Family Welfare Department had set up an Intensive Care Unit to handle emergency cases during Mahamastakabhisheka. “We have saved the lives of 27 people, including eight police officers, who suffered heart attack during the ceremony. The police officers were working under high pressure. We did thrombolysis and referred them to big hospitals in Mysuru and Bengaluru. They are all recovering,” Dr. Yuravaraj said.
