Six crushed to death in India temple stampede
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement that he was 'deeply saddened by the tragic stampede' at Lairai Devi temple in the village of Shirgao in the early hours of Saturday morning.
'Six people died even before they could be brought to the hospital,' Sawant told reporters.
He visited the hospital and said that 'all possible support' would be given to the families of those killed or injured.
Vishwajit Rane, Goa state health minister said 'approximately 80' people were injured.
'Five are critical and on ventilator support, while the remaining are being treated in the specially created emergency ward,' he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office expressed 'condolences to those who lost their loved ones'.
The Lairai Zatra is a key Hindu celebration in Goa and is marked by a fire-walking ceremony.
Deadly stampedes are notoriously common in Indian religious festivals.
Earlier this year, at least 30 people were killed in an early morning crush at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
13 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
'India Day' celebrations delayed in Ireland over 'racist' attacks
LONDON: One of Ireland's largest celebrations of Indian culture was postponed following "violent attacks" on the community in recent months, the Ireland India Council announced on Monday. "We feel that the situation at the moment is not conducive for holding India Day," said the cultural and trade association's co-chairman Prashant Shukla after a meeting with Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris. The celebrations, scheduled for this Sunday, have been organised by the council in collaboration with the Irish government since 2015 and feature various cultural performances. Shukla said the decision to postpone the event was "very difficult" but was taken for the safety of the community. "I completely condemn the despicable acts of violence and racism that we have seen against some members of the community in recent weeks," said Harris in an X post after the meeting with Indian community leaders. Ireland's police force did not clarify the number or nature of these incidents when asked. The Indian Embassy in Dublin earlier this month issued a safety warning after "an increase in instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently". Indians "are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours", said the embassy in a statement. The Irish embassy in New Delhi said it condemned the attacks and was in contact with police regarding investigations. Local media reported that a 6-year-old girl of Indian origin was assaulted and called racial slurs last week in southeast Ireland. The Irish Times also reported that an Indian taxi driver was attacked with a broken bottle by two passengers in Dublin and told to "go back to your country". Shukla said there was "concern (...) at the speed of hate coming on our social media". In an interview with Irish broadcaster RTE, he pointed to a rise in "extreme right propaganda and some false perception" that Indian immigrants were to blame for Ireland's housing problems. Shukla said the new date for the event — "one of the largest India-related events in Ireland", according to an Irish government website — would be announced at a later date. India celebrates gaining independence from British colonial rule on Aug 15, with events held around the world by its large diaspora.
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bersatu wing tells govt Indian MPs to quit over Mitra's failure
Bersatu associate wing vice-chief R Sri Sanjeevan called for a forensic audit to be conducted on all of Mitra's expenditure since its establishment. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : A Bersatu associate wing leader says government Indian MPs who lack the courage to speak up about the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) should resign immediately following a DAP lawmaker's view that Mitra had failed to help Indians most in need. Earlier today, Klang MP V Ganabatirau told the Dewan Rakyat that Mitra had been hampered by frequent leadership changes, bureaucracy and the lack of long-term planning. He also said funds often failed to reach those most in need and accused some ministries of treating Mitra as an 'emergency fund' rather than a proper development agency. In a statement, Bersatu associate wing vice-chief R Sri Sanjeevan said Ganabatirau's admission confirmed that Mitra had become a 'political tool and a crony project hub, not a saviour for the community'. 'This is not just Mitra's failure – this is a moral failure of all Indian elected representatives in the government,' said Sanjeevan. 'They were chosen to be the voice of the people, but in the end, they have become enablers of weaknesses and abuse of power. 'Indian MPs in the government who lack the courage to speak up should immediately resign. Don't put on a show pretending to speak out about Mitra just to gain popularity and votes from the Indian community.' Apart from calling for a forensic audit to be conducted on all of Mitra's expenditure since its establishment, Sanjeevan also said all Mitra projects that had failed to meet their objectives should be made public. Last week, Mitra chairman P Prabakaran said the agency's past failures were due to a lack of continuity, which he said disrupted long-term efforts to uplift the Indian community. Prabakaran told the Dewan Rakyat that over the past decade, Mitra and its predecessor, the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community Unit, had seen frequent changes in leadership and policies. However, Prabakaran said under his tenure, he had ensured that Mitra's direction was aligned with national policies – and not individual preferences. The Batu MP took over as Mitra chairman in February 2024.
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Calls to boycott American goods grow in India
FROM McDonald's and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, United States-based multinationals are facing calls for a boycott in India as business executives and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supporters stoke anti-American sentiment to protest against US tariff. India, the world's most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers, many of whom remain infatuated with international labels seen as symbols of moving up in life. India, for example, is the biggest market by users for Meta's WhatsApp and Domino's has more restaurants than any other brand in the country. Beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola often dominate store shelves, and people still queue up when a new Apple store opens or a Starbucks cafe doles out discounts. Although there was no immediate indication of sales being hit, there's a growing chorus both on social media and offline to buy local and ditch American products after President Donald Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on goods from India, rattling exporters and damaging ties between New Delhi and Washington. McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. Manish Chowdhary, cofounder of India's Wow Skin Science, took to LinkedIn with a video message urging support for farmers and startups to make "Made in India" a "global obsession", and to learn from South Korea whose food and beauty products are famous worldwide. "We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don't own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country," he said. Rahm Shastry, chief executive officer of India's DriveU, which provides a car driver on call service, wrote on LinkedIn: "India should have its own home-grown Twitter/Google/YouTube/WhatsApp/FB — like China has." To be fair, Indian retail companies give foreign brands like Starbucks stiff competition in the domestic market, but going global has been a challenge. Indian IT services firms, however, have become deeply entrenched in the global economy, with the likes of TCS and Infosys providing software solutions to clients world over. On Sunday, Modi made a "special appeal" for becoming self-reliant, telling a gathering in Bengaluru that Indian technology companies made products for the world but "now is the time for us to give more priority to India's needs". He did not name any company. Even as anti-American protests simmer, Tesla launched its second showroom in India, with Monday's opening attended by Indian commerce ministry officials and US embassy officials. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch group, which is linked to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, took out small public rallies across India on Sunday, urging people to boycott American brands. "People are now looking at Indian products. It will take some time to fructify," said Ashwani Mahajan, the group's co-convenor. "This is a call for nationalism, patriotism." He also shared with Reuters a table his group is circulating on WhatsApp, listing Indian brands of bath soaps, toothpaste and cold drinks that people could choose over foreign ones. On social media, one of the group's campaigns is a graphic titled "Boycott foreign food chains", with logos of McDonald's and many other restaurant brands. In Uttar Pradesh, Rajat Gupta, 37, who was dining at a McDonald's in Lucknow on Monday, said he wasn't concerned about the tariff protests and simply enjoyed the 49-rupee coffee he considered good value for money.
