Puri: At least three people died and 50 others were injured in a stampede near Sri Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri during Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. The incident occurred early Sunday morning, around 4-4.30 am amid heavy crowd.
According to Puri District Collector Siddharth S. Swain, the incident happened when hundreds of devotees had gathered near the Shree Gundicha Temple for darshan. The crowd suddenly surged and created a stampede-like situation.
Emergency services responded quickly and the injured were taken to Puri District Hospital. Six of them are in critical condition.
The deceased have been identified as Prativa Das Female (52), Premakanta Mohanty (78) and Basanti Sahu (42), all residents of Khurda district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem.
The incident took place near Saradhabali, in front of the temple, where Lord Jagannath was seated on the chariot. The crowd became uncontrollable during the darshan and in the chaos several people fell and were trampled.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident. “We are looking into what triggered the rush and whether there were any lapses in crowd control,” said an official.
Hours after the incident, Odisha Chief Minister expressed deep sorrow and said, “Due to the intense eagerness among devotees to have a glimpse of Mahaprabhu at Sharadhabali, an unfortunate incident occurred because of the resulting jostling and chaos. Personally, I and my government seek forgiveness from all Jagannath devotees.”
“We express our condolences to the families of those devotees whose lives were extinguished at Sharadhabali and pray to Mahaprabhu Jagannath to grant them the strength to bear this profound sorrow,” he added.
Calling the incident a result of serious negligence, the Chief Minister declared it “unforgivable” and ordered a prompt investigation into the security lapses. “Strict and exemplary action will be taken against those found responsible,” he added.
