
Awsaneshwar temple tragedy prompts electrical setup overhaul
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday (July 28) during Jalabhishek, when a live wire snapped reportedly due to monkeys jumping on it, causing a short-circuit and triggering panic among devotees. The broken wire came in contact with the temple's tin shed, resulting in the incident which also left 29 devotees injured.
The temple management committee, led by manager Atul Vinod Giri and priest Atul Goswami, has taken steps to ensure devotees' safety. The tin shed has been stripped of its electrical wiring.
The committee members further said that electricity supply to the tin shed outside the temple has been discontinued. In addition, a 500-metre stretch of the temple path is being equipped with safety nets below the 11,000-volt electrical lines. These nets will catch any broken wires, preventing them from falling on the ground and causing harm, they added. Besides, fans installed in the temple corridor's tin shed have been removed to minimise potential electrical hazards.
The committee members said that the local police and electricity safety department are conducting investigations and implementing safety measures. A four-member team from the Directorate of Electrical Safety visited the temple to investigate the incident, they added.
The team has taken the digital video recorder (DVR) and hard disk of the temple's CCTV system for further analysis. The committee confirmed that nine CCTV cameras are installed within the temple premises and are fully functional.
The local police and officials from the electricity safety department are also part of the investigation.

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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Awsaneshwar temple tragedy prompts electrical setup overhaul
After the death of two devotees due to electrocution at Awsaneshwar Mahadev temple in the Haidergarh area of Barabanki district, the temple management has implemented enhanced safety measures to prevent a repeat of such incidents. The temple management committee, led by manager Atul Vinod Giri and priest Atul Goswami, has taken steps to ensure devotees' safety. (File Photo) The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday (July 28) during Jalabhishek, when a live wire snapped reportedly due to monkeys jumping on it, causing a short-circuit and triggering panic among devotees. The broken wire came in contact with the temple's tin shed, resulting in the incident which also left 29 devotees injured. The temple management committee, led by manager Atul Vinod Giri and priest Atul Goswami, has taken steps to ensure devotees' safety. The tin shed has been stripped of its electrical wiring. The committee members further said that electricity supply to the tin shed outside the temple has been discontinued. In addition, a 500-metre stretch of the temple path is being equipped with safety nets below the 11,000-volt electrical lines. These nets will catch any broken wires, preventing them from falling on the ground and causing harm, they added. Besides, fans installed in the temple corridor's tin shed have been removed to minimise potential electrical hazards. The committee members said that the local police and electricity safety department are conducting investigations and implementing safety measures. A four-member team from the Directorate of Electrical Safety visited the temple to investigate the incident, they added. The team has taken the digital video recorder (DVR) and hard disk of the temple's CCTV system for further analysis. The committee confirmed that nine CCTV cameras are installed within the temple premises and are fully functional. The local police and officials from the electricity safety department are also part of the investigation.


Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Temple to see safety revamp after tragedy
Lucknow: A day after two electrocution deaths at the Avsaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Haidergarh, Barabanki, which occurred during the early hours of Monday, authorities launched a major safety and accountability drive. The temple management and police, under intense scrutiny, began removing old and faulty wiring and fans installed along the jalabhishek route's tin shed, where the incident occurred. According to officials, the electricity department cut off the power supply to the temple premises on Monday night, citing hazardous, unverified internal wiring. The move came after eyewitnesses and media reported that a network of worn-out electrical wires parallel to the tin shed transferred current to the metal barricade poles, triggering the fatal shock. On Tuesday morning, the temple staff began dismantling the damaged wiring, generator connections, and electrical appliances. Manager Vinod Giri confirmed that the police ordered complete rewiring and inspection by certified experts, and no electricity will be restored until the premises are declared safe. Alongside, the Haidergarh power division also stepped up efforts by installing protective netting below high-tension (11,000 kV) lines that run above the main Barabanki–Haidergarh road leading to the temple. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Travel smart in Tenerife with budget tips Yahoo! Search Results | Search Ads Learn More Undo Junior engineer Hemant Kumar Pathak said this was to ensure any snapped wires would be caught by the mesh, preventing future hazards. A four-member team from the Directorate of Electrical Safety also inspected the site on Tuesday and collected evidence. Preliminary administrative reports suggested that a cable broke due to a monkey's interference. Two devotees were electrocuted, and 46 others sustained minor electric shocks after an electric wire snapped and fell onto a tin shed inside the premises of the Shri Ausaneshwar Mahadev temple in Haidergarh tehsil of Barabanki district on Monday morning. The incident that occurred during the Jalabhishek rituals during the holy month of Shrawan when the temple was crowded with devotees led to a stampede-like situation.


Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Two dead, many injured in Barabanki temple stampede
At least two people died and several others were injured in a stampede-like situation near Barabanki's Ausaneshwar temple early Monday morning, officials said. Doctors attending on an injured person after the Barabanki temple stampede on Monday. (PTI PHOTO) The Barabanki police said the incident occurred after a monkey tugged at an electric wire, causing it to fall on a tin shed. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has taken notice of the incident and expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased. 'He has directed the district administration officials to expedite the proper treatment of the injured and relief operations,' the chief minister's office posted on X in Hindi. According to local officials, the two deceased were identified as Prashant Kumar (16) and Ramesh Kumar (35). The state government has announced immediate relief of ₹5 lakh to the family members of both the deceased. There was a rush from 1am onwards at the temple on the third Monday of the Hindu holy month of Sawan. Over 2000 devotees were there at the time of the incident. It was an accident and rescue operations were promptly initiated following which no more casualties were reported, said additional director general (ADG) of police, Lucknow zone, Sujit Pandey who rushed to the spot under the Haidergarh police station limits, nearly 40 kilometres from the Barabanki district headquarters after the CM's directives. Pandey inspected the incident site as well as crowd management measures. Most of the injured people, or those who fainted due to the crowd rush, are back home after first aid, said Pandey who also ordered videography of the site. He said normalcy had returned at the temple and devotees are having darshan in a routine manner. District magistrate Shashank Tripathi said a stampede-like situation was reported at the Ausaneshwar temple during 'Jalabhishek at around 2.30 am'. 'Devotees were offering prayers when a monkey jumped onto an electric wire, causing it to fall on a shed. This led to an electric current passing through the structure. Medical treatment of the injured is underway. Around 19 people were injured, with two in a serious condition.' Barabanki chief medical officer (CMO) Avadhesh Yadav told media persons that 19 injured individuals were brought to the Haidergarh Community Health Center (CHC), where two were declared dead. A few others were then referred to Trivediganj CHC, while one was sent to the district hospital for further treatment. The Barabanki stampede comes a day after a similar incident in Haridwar's Mansa Devi Temple where eight people died. On January 29, a stampede occurred during the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj during which several people lost their lives. On July 2, 2024, 121 people, mainly women and children, died in a stampede after a religious congregation in UP's Hathras.