NEW DELHI (AP) – Three people were killed and more than a dozen hospitalised following a sudden crowd surge and stampede at a festival in eastern India, local authorities said.
“There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the deities during which a few people either fainted, felt suffocated or complained of breathlessness,” said top government official Siddharth Shankar Swain in Puri. Swain told The Associated Press that 15 people were rushed to a local government hospital, where three people were pronounced dead. Autopsies are planned to determine the exact causes of death. The other 12 people have been discharged.
Tens of thousands of devotees gathered in the coastal town at Shree Gundicha Temple, near the famous Jagannatha Temple, to catch a glimpse of the deities onboard three chariots, Swain said. The coastal temple town of Puri comes alive each year with the grand Rath Yatra or chariot festival, in one of the world’s oldest and largest religious processions.
The centuries-old festival involves deities being taken out of the temple and driven in colourfully decorated chariots.
The festival is the most revered events and draws hundreds of thousands of devotees annually from across India and the world.
Former top elected official of Odisha state Naveen Patnaik, where Puri is located, said in a social media post that “no government machinery (was) present to manage the surging crowds, highlighting a shocking lapse in duty”.
“While I refrain from accusing the government of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness has undeniably contributed to this tragedy,” he said. Patnaik called the incident a “stampede” that “exposes the government’s glaring incompetence in ensuring a peaceful festival for devotees”. In a social media post, top elected official of Odisha Mohan Charan Majhi apologised for the incident, saying it occurred “due to stampede among devotees” amid excitement to have a glimpse of the deities.
Majhi said the security negligence will be investigated immediately.
“This negligence is inexcusable,” he said, adding that concrete action will be taken against the persons involved.
-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin