Puri: At least three devotees were killed and several others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple at Saradha Bali in Odisha’s Puri in the early hours of Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Premakanta Mohanty (80), Basanti Sahoo (36) and Prabhati Das (42).
The stampede occurred at around 4.20 pm when a large number of devotees gathered to catch a glimpse of the deities on their respective chariots, which had arrived at Saradha Bali from Shree Jagannath Temple on Saturday at around 1:30 pm after the chariot-pulling, left incomplete earlier resumed the previous morning.
According to eyewitnesses, the stampede occurred after two trucks carrying wooden logs tried to enter the already crowded area where palm-log ladders were scattered. There were no adequate police arrangements or officials on-site to manage the swelling number of pilgrims, they alleged.
Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, however, said that there was a sudden rush of devotees soon after the ‘pahada’. “Nine devotees complained of breathlessness and were immediately taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, three of them died, while the rest are currently stable,” he said.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan has announced a high-level inquiry in the incident. “The tragedy involving three deaths has deeply saddened us. We will conduct a thorough investigation, and appropriate action will be taken against those whose negligence led to this unfortunate incident,” he said.
This is the first time a fatal stampede has occurred outside the Gundicha Temple, locals said.
This comes at a time when the BJP-run state government has come in for severe criticism from the Opposition for mismanagement over inordinate delay in pulling the Nandighosha chariot of Lord Jagannath.
This apart, around 750 devotees had to be taken to hospital on Friday due to exhaustion and crowd pressure during Rath Yatra. More than 230 devotees were taken to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), while around 520 others were treated at the district headquarters hospital (DHH), officials said. While most were discharged after first aid, one critically ill devotee had to be shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. At least 12 patients are in the ICU.
