Prayers, Intense Rituals Continue In Tamil Nadu As Hospital Hints At Extended Stay For Jayalalithaa

Some offered special prayers, while the others distributed food to the poor, all in one hope - their beloved Amma, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, will soon recover her health.

BCCL

While that seemed pretty normal, some have taken their 'devotion' to Jaya to extreme levels.

Some AIADMK women supporters ate food from the floor of a temple as a prayer for the ailing party supremo.

BCCL

In her RK Nagar constituency a man flung himself on mid-air from a crane with hooks pierced into his back to offer his prayers.

BCCL

However, some disturbing visuals of young children with their faces pierced with metal rods taking part in a prayer ceremony organised by party workers has invited criticism. Opposition PMK has called the incident as a "human rights violation".

There are also reports of at least two self immolation attempts for Jayalalithaa ever since she has been admitted in hospital.

All these come even as questions remain over her condition. Both her party and the Apollo hospital have been tight-lipped about her condition.

While the latest medical bulletin from the hospital says her condition is improving, it indicates that her discharge from hospital may not happen soon.

BCCL

"The consensus of opinion of all the experts is that the line of treatment given to the chief minister should be continued and she would require a longer stay," the release signed by hospital chief operating officer Subbiah Viswanathan said.

She is been taken care of by expert doctors from AIIMS and an international specialist Dr Richard John Beale from the London Bridge Hospital, along with a panel of doctors consisting intensivists, cardiologists, respiratory physicians, infectious disease specialists and diabetologists at the hospital.

68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals for fever and dehydration on September 22.?

Subsequently, Apollo Hospitals said she was cured of fever and needed to be in the hospital for observation.