3 dead, 50 injured in stampede during Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri
At least three people died and 50 others were injured in a stampede near Sri Gundicha Temple in Odisha's Puri during Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. The incident occurred early Sunday morning, around 4-4.30 am amid heavy crowd.According to Puri District Collector Siddharth S. Swain, the incident happened when hundreds of devotees had gathered near the Shree Gundicha Temple for darshan. The crowd suddenly surged and created a stampede-like situation.advertisementEmergency services responded quickly and the injured were taken to Puri District Hospital. Six of them are in critical condition.
The deceased have been identified as Prativa Das Female (52), Premakanta Mohanty (78) and Basanti Sahu (42), all residents of Khurda district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem.The incident took place near Saradhabali, in front of the temple, where Lord Jagannath was seated on the chariot. The crowd became uncontrollable during the darshan and in the chaos several people fell and were trampled.Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident. 'We are looking into what triggered the rush and whether there were any lapses in crowd control,' said an official.Following the incident, BJD President Naveen Patnaik criticised the state government and said that the stampede near the Gundicha Temple in Puri showed its glaring failure to ensure a safe and orderly Rath Yatra for devotees.advertisementFormer Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik posted on X, 'I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the three devotees who have lost their lives in the tragic stampede at Saradhabali, Puri and I pray to Mahaprabhu Jagannatha for the swift recovery of the devotees injured in this devastating incident.''Today's stampede, occurring just a day after the abysmal failure of crowd management during the #RathYatra that left hundreds injured, exposes the government's glaring incompetence in ensuring a peaceful festival for devotees,' the Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly said.Senior Daitapati servitor (sevayat) of the Puri Jagannath Temple, Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra, also expressed grief over the deaths and said, "I have heard that some people have died, it is sad news. This has happened for the first time. I appeal to the administration to make good arrangements so that people do not face any inconvenience."An estimated one million devotees participated in the annual Rath Yatra as the grand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra were pulled through the streets of Puri. The deities are taken to the Gundicha Temple, where they stay for a week before returning to the Jagannath Temple.Earlier, on Saturday, Sanjay Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Odisha, had also said that they expect around 10 to 12 lakh devotees to gather in Puri.- Ends
IN THIS STORY#Odisha
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