Chennai, August 7: DMK Chief Karunanidhi, popularly referred to as Kalaignar,  breathed his last on Tuesday at Kauvery Hospital. In the wake of the death of one of India's tallest leaders, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) services to Tamil Nadu have been stopped temporarily. Reports inform that the State Police has shut all roads leading to M Karunanidhi's residence in Gopalapuram. Security has been beefed up and heavy deployment of police and RAF personnel is done across the state.

The health of the DMK Supremo saw a significant decline in the last 24 hours due to multi-organ failure. The Kauvery Hospital in its statement said that despite the best efforts of their doctors and nurses to resuscitate him, he failed to respond. "We profoundly mourn the loss of one of the tallest leaders of India and we share the grief of family members and fellow Tamilians worldwide", the statement added.

Thousands of Kalaigar’s supporters were seen mourning outside the Kauvery Hospital on Tuesday evening after the news of passing away of the DMK Chief broke out. Condolence started pouring in for the veteran leader. Karunanidhi, who was popularly referred to as Kalaignar was admitted to the hospital on July 28 after he contracted urinary tract infection and developed a high fever.

Scores of people carried DMK’s red-and-black flags and photographs of Karunanidhi, a five-time chief minister of the state whose public life has spanned over seven decades. As concerns over Karunanidhi’s condition mounted, the crowd continued to swell outside the hospital in Chennai.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2018 07:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).