Tambaram Police begin enquiries into overcrowding at A.R. Rahman’s music concert

Enq. into chaotic traffic & overcrowding at AR. Rahman's 'Marukkuma Nenjam' concert. CM's convoy caught in snarl. Police blame event managers for poor crowd mgmt. Fans disappointed as they couldn't enter venue due to traffic & overselling of tickets. Poor mgmt & lack of seats at venue.

The Tambaram City Police are enquiring into reports of overcrowding and chaotic traffic on East Coast Road on Sunday (September 10, 2023) evening, due to musician AR. Rahman’s concert, ‘Marakkuma Nenjam’. A convoy of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s, was also caught in the massive traffic snarl.

A senior police officer blamed the event managers (ACTC Events), for poor crowd management. An enquiry is ongoing to find out whether the organiser had oversold tickets, and also to check if they had adhered to the conditions of the licence granted to them.

The concert was held at Adityaram Palace City on ECR. On Monday, multiple ticket-holders posted on social media, complaining about poor management at the venue and overcrowding. Many fans were disappointed as they could not enter the venue due to the heavy traffic, despite holding tickets, and had to return without being able to see the show. They blamed the event management company for overselling tickets and for not being able to give seats to those who at arrived at the venue with valid tickets.

“We had a diamond ticket for ₹5,000 but could not enter because people were standing in a queue that ran for 2.5 kilometres. Others were sitting in our seats and we did not know what to do except to return home disappointed. People came to the gate and said to us that a stampede was likely to take place and asked us to leave the place immediately,” said a disappointed fan, Archana, of Sholinganallur.

Another resident, Ranganathan, of Alwarpet said, “There was no place to park vehicles and the crowd was overflowing. How could they sell tickets beyond the limit and capacity of the venue? Even for those who could enter, there were not enough seats available. We did not expect such a poorly-organised concert and that too, from AR. Rahman. “