Stampede-Like Situation Outside Puri Jagannath Temple After Devotees Break Security Barricades

Puri: A stampede-like situation was cropped up outside Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Wednesday after devotees broke the security barricades to enter the shrine for darshan of the sibling deities.

As per sources, thousands of devotees had been waiting in line for hours since Tuesday night to seek the blessings of the Trinity inside the 12th century shrine.

The long queue stretched over half a kilometre from the temple to the Market Square. As the wait grew longer, frustrated devotees allegedly broke through the security cordon, resulting in a surge of people pushing forward.

The incident led to a stampede-like situation, with several devotees falling and getting trampled. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

In the melee, several devotees suffered minor injuries but were rescued by other devotees.

This incident comes on the heels of a similar stampede-like situation near the temple’s entrance on Tuesday, where at least ten devotees reportedly fainted. The densely packed crowds and pushing and shoving among the devotees had created a volatile atmosphere