Officials said that at least three people were killed and 50 others were injured in a stampede, who went out during the ongoing Rath Yatra festival at Gundicha temple in Puri district of Odisha on Sunday morning, officials said that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Maji has ordered an inquiry into the incident. 25 lakhs for the families of the deceased.
The incident took place around 4 am when many devotees went near the temple, 3 km from the main Jagannath temple, the Rath Yatra went to the witness of the festival. Eyewitnesses stated that a crush was triggered, when two trucks took the charamla wood for rituals, a consecration entered a sandy open place in front of the Gundicha temple, where the crowd of 1,500 devotees was waiting for a glimpse to the gods on donations to unilateralize.
Biswjit Das, husband of the deceased Pravati Das, said, “People fell on each other in a few seconds and many people fainted. I was seeking help in the information center, but they could not do anything,” even the ambulance was stationed at least one kilometer away. “
“When the trucks carrying Charmala Wood entered Saradbali, the devotees gathered near the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, which moved towards Lord Jagannath’s chariot. As the area was too young, people started running in a disorganized manner. Many people fell down.”
Puri District Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said that at least three people were killed and 50 others were injured in the incident. Six are seriously injured and are being treated at ICU. Officials said that the deceased has been identified as Basanti Sahu (36) of Bolagadh, and Premkant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das of Balipatna (42) in Khadya district.
Another Sakshishwasan said that the temple officials swell the crowd after closing the chariot gates at midnight, which gave many devotees a chance to see the gods through the night. “Usually, the gates are not closed after the gods reach the Gundcha temple on the chariots,” he said. “This year without any reason, they stopped it after midnight and this led to an increase in the crowd that was eager to see the gods.”
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the incident and directed the officials to initiate action against those responsible. “Personally, I and my government apologize to all Jagannath devotees. We express their condolences to the families of the devotees whose life was lost in Sardabad and pray to Mahaprabhu Jagannath to give the strength to bear this deep sorrow,” he said in a post on X in Odia. “This negligence is unforgivable. An immediate investigation will be done in the security flaws, and I have directed that necessary steps will be taken to initiate exemplary action against those responsible.”
Chief Minister’s office later announced earlier 25 lakh everyone for the relatives of the deceased. An administrative inquiry under the supervision of the State Development Commissioner was also ordered to investigate the stampede.
As part of punitive measures after the incident, the state government ordered the transfer of Collector Swain and Superintendent of Police Vineet Aggarwal, along with the suspension of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bishanu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padi.
As per the orders issued by the state government, Arvind Aggarwal, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, was given the charge of monitoring the ongoing Rath Yatra Festival in Puri, in which according to the orders issued by the state government, the Director General of Security for this program Soumendra Priya Saddirshi for this program,
The CMO said in a post on X, “The Chief Minister said that Mahaprabhu’s Rath Yatra is the pride and glory of our Odia nation. There will be no negligence in this. In this, action will be taken against all responsible people.”
The incident came on Friday two days after at least 600 people fell ill, as a crowd of more than one lakh people converted to the annual Rath Yatra in Temple Town amid extreme heat, which increased by humidity.
The opposition led by the Chief of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and former CM Naveen Patnaik criticized the government for the alleged reduction of state machinery to manage the crowd.
Patnaik said in a post on X, “There is a report of eyewitnesses that the initial response to this horrific tragedy came from the relatives of the devotees, with no government machinery, which exposes a shocking omission in the crowd, exposing a shocking omission in duty.”
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandh and Mallikrajun Kharge also said that the incident was a reminder about the need for mob control management.
Gandhi said on X, “This tragedy is a serious warning – for such big events, security and mob management preparations should be reviewed seriously and well. It is paramount to protect life, and no time is acceptable in this responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Kharge said that those responsible for this tragedy should be held accountable under the law. He said, “Negligence and mismanagement is unforgivable due to this tragedy,” he said on X. “State government and officials should conduct intensive investigation into serious intervals due to this incident. Ensuring public safety and effective mob management, especially during pre-planned festivals.”
