3 killed and a dozen others hospitalized after crowd surge at eastern India Hindu festival
NEW DELHI — Three people were killed and more than a dozen hospitalized Sunday following a sudden crowd surge and stampede at a popular Hindu festival in eastern India, local authorities said.
'There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the Hindu deities during which a few people either fainted, felt suffocated or complained of breathlessness,' said Siddharth Shankar Swain, the top government official 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 early Sunday 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 Hindu deities being taken out of the temple and driven in colorfully decorated chariots.
The festival is one of Hinduism's most revered events and draws hundreds of thousands of devotees annually from across India and the world.
Naveen Patnaik, a former top elected official of Odisha state 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, Mohan Charan Majhi, the top elected official of Odisha, apologized 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Ex-aide to New York governor pleads not guilty to new pandemic fraud charge
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to two New York governors already facing charges of acting as an illicit agent of China pleaded not guilty on Monday to additional charges that she improperly profited from the state's purchase of face masks and other key medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, — who is also charged — entered not guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Hu also faces tax evasion charges. The two remain free on bond and are due back in court Aug. 25 ahead of an expected November trial. Sun's lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer declined to comment following Monday's proceedings but has previously dismissed the new charges as 'feverish accusations unmoored from the facts.' Hu's lawyers didn't immediately respond Monday but have also similarly denied the charges. Prosecutors say the couple collected millions of dollars in kickbacks by exploiting Sun's role in helping New York procure personal protective equipment, or PPE, during the pandemic in 2020. They say Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen, used connections in her native China to secure PPE for the state, though she didn't disclose her family's ties to two vendors that received more than $44 million, prosecutors say. Sun previously pleaded not guilty to charges she used her position in state government to advance Chinese government priorities in exchange for financial rewards, including assistance with Hu's business ventures in China. The lucrative benefits helped the Long Island couple live a lavish lifestyle with multimillion-dollar properties and luxury cars, prosecutors have said. Sun worked for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, until she was fired in 2023.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Immigration reforms for ‘complete reset' to be introduced in Parliament
Legislation to end the recruitment of care workers from abroad is set to be introduced as part of a raft of immigration reforms. New rules to be laid in Parliament on Tuesday will also seek to increase salary and skills thresholds up to degree level for skilled workers, which will cut eligibility for 111 occupations. A new time-limited temporary shortage list will also be introduced until the end of 2026 for below degree level, where recruiting foreign workers is key to build critical infrastructure or industrial strategy. But those workers will no longer be able to bring their families and will not be entitled to salary and visa fee discounts. The legislative measures are the first policy changes to be introduced from the Government's Immigration White Paper to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years. 'These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.' The changes, if approved by MPs and peers, will come into force from July 22. Further measures from the White Paper such as increasing English language requirements and raising the immigration skills charge are also expected to be in place by the end of the year. The White Paper is aimed at reducing numbers, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour. Home Office estimates indicate that changes from the plan could reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, when looking at eight of its proposals including on study and work routes and a higher level of English language requirement. But the move to scrap care worker visas has sparked concerns from the sector, with GMB national officer Will Dalton describing the decision as 'potentially catastrophic' as the care sector was 'utterly reliant on migrant workers' and still had more than 130,000 vacancies across the country. The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by 'rogue' providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up. Transitional arrangements for overseas care workers already in the UK have also been set out on Tuesday, according to the department.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ministers launch full review of parental leave as current system ‘not working'
Ministers have launched a review of parental leave and pay as the current system is 'not working' for young families. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the Government will investigate the whole system for supporting new parents to take time off work when they have a baby, including maternity leave, paternity leave and shared arrangements. 'We want this to work for millions of families who tell us at the minute that it is not working, so only about one in three new dads take paternity leave, mainly for financial reasons,' Mr Reynolds told the PA news agency. Currently, new fathers can take two weeks' paid leave, at a rate of either £187.18, or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lowest. Maternity leave is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, and then whichever is lower of that 90% or £187.18 for the next 33 weeks. Ministers hope to increase the take-up of shared parental leave, which allows a couple to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between them. They also hope to simplify the system for both parents and employers, with the Business Secretary pointing to 'eight different types of parental leave'. Mr Reynolds insisted businesses would be 'absolutely integral' to the review, and would not face extra burdens as a result. He added: 'They tell us the current system is quite confusing, that people don't know what they're entitled to, that businesses don't know what they should be offering.' As ministers battle to boost sluggish growth, Mr Reynolds insisted bolstering parental leave would help the economy. He told PA: 'Of course, business themselves, the growth argument is this: the more people we can keep in work, because they're able to spend some time with their children in those really important first few months and weeks, if we can do that, that's obviously going to strengthen the economy as well.' Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner similarly described support for parents as 'vital for our economy'. She added: 'Through our plan to make work pay, we're already improving the parental leave system with new day one rights. This ambitious review will leave no stone unturned as we deliver for working families.' The review will gather opinions from parents, employers and experts across the UK and end with a series of proposals for reform. Plans to boost support for young parents come after worries about the falling birthrate were expressed by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. She told the Daily Telegraph falling birth rates were not only a concerning trend but one which 'tells a story, heartbreakingly, about the dashed dreams of many families'. Official data from the Office for National Statistics shows fertility rates in England and Wales dropped to 1.44 children per woman in 2023, the lowest level since records began in 1938. Ms Phillipson said people were scared off having children due to the high costs, and wanted 'more young people to have children, if they so choose'.
