77 persons died of grief, shock over Jayalalithaa’s demise

At least 77 people died of grief, shock during Jayalalithaa’s 75-day stay at Apollo Hospitals and her subsequent death on Monday night, news agency PTI reported. On Tuesday evening, Hundreds of thousands of her supporters thronged Marina Beach to witness her last rites.

The roads leading up to MGR Memorial, where she was buried with full state honours, was a sea of humanity that swelled up to great numbers. Jayalalithaa’s body was earlier kept inside Rajaji Hall for the public to pay their last respects.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among prominent leaders who paid floral tributes. Politicians cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to the AIADMK supremo, including DMK chief Karunanidhi.

Jayalalithaa breathed her last at 11.30 pm on Monday night, Apollo Hospitals said in a statement. She was admitted to the hospital on September 22, after she complained of fever and dehydration.

She was put under the care of a special team of doctors. Just when her health began to improve, she suffered a cardiac arrest last Sunday. She continued to battle till the end, according to doctors, but stopped responding to the treatment late on Monday.

A team of AIIMS specialists were also flown in to Chennai to assist Apollo doctors. Despite their best of efforts, Jayalalithaa passed away at the age of 68.

Source: Indian Express