Jatani: A festive Ganesh idol immersion procession turned tragic late Saturday night in Odisha’s Jatani town when a slab of a roadside building collapsed on a crowd of onlookers, leaving one person dead and nine others injured.
Police identified the deceased as Chintu Barik (30), a motorcycle mechanic and a resident of Jatni. He succumbed to severe injuries at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
The incident occurred near Post Office Square along the busy 3-km stretch between Sitaram Chhak and Haribhaina Chhak, where thousands of devotees had gathered to witness the famous Jatni Ganesh Visarjan procession.
According to eyewitnesses and preliminary reports, heavy concrete chunks fell from a slab over a window of a nearly 40-year-old building housing a public sector bank, hitting spectators gathered underneath. Several people suffered head injuries and were left bleeding. The injured were initially taken to the local Railway medical facility and Community health Centre. Six among them were later shifted to Capital Hospital and AIIMS Bhubaneswar for treatment. The condition of the injured was stated to be stable.
Commissionerate Police personnel on procession duty aided in the rescue operation.
The incident sparked concerns regarding the use of high-decibel DJ systems during the immersion procession. While the aging structure is believed to have weakened due to several days of continuous heavy rainfall, eyewitnesses and residents alleged that intense vibrations from high-decibel DJ sound systems played during the procession triggered the structural collapse. They also criticised authorities for failing to inspect fragile commercial buildings along main public routes and for permitting high-volume sound setups despite official restrictions.
Police are investigating allegations that intense vibrations from loud DJ music during the procession contributed to the collapse. “Building engineers are already examining the structure to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident,” Additional Police Commissioner Narasingha Bhol told TOI. He, however, maintained that sound-limit violations were handled promptly, noting that the DCP personally intervened to stop several organizers from playing excessively loud music.