No headway as Shirgao panel fails to meet deadline
Panaji:
The
fact-finding committee
headed by revenue secretary
Sandeep Jacques
failed to complete the inquiry in connection with the stampede at
Shree Devi Lairai Jatra
early on Saturday morning within the stipulated period.
Govt constituted the committee on Saturday, and initially said it was supposed to give its report by Sunday, but the order granted it 48 hours' time. Saturday's order by undersecretary (home) Mahesh Kedar stated, 'The committee shall immediately visit the incident site, commence the fact-finding inquiry, and submit the report within 48 hours'.
The committee visited Shirgao and spoke to the temple committee as well as eyewitnesses. Jacques pointed out that the crowd should have been staggered. 'The problem is when you have the thing staggered over three to four days, the situation is much better. Here, it is overnight, and you expect the crowd to finish within that night only, that is the problem. If you have it over a period of time, you stagger,' Jacques said during his first visit to Shirgao with the team.
Meanwhile, social activist Ramesh Gawas said that state govt constituted a committee comprising people who have zero knowledge of the jatra. 'The committee is like a scarecrow in a field. Locals should have been included,' he said. 'They (current panel) don't understand the behaviour and mindset of the 'dhonds', the special devotees of the goddess. How will they come to a conclusion, and even if they do, will it be wrong?'
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The committee has as its members DIG Varsha Sharma, transport director Pravimal Abhishek, and South Goa SP Tikam Singh Verma. Gawas said that 'outsiders' can't be on the committee. 'If they don't know the point of reference, how will they come to a conclusion?' He said that local Goans would have had knowledge about the jatra and could have provided better findings and conclusions.
In the aftermath of the stampede, state govt took no action against any administrative staff, and only transferred North Goa collector Sneha Gitte, North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal, and some others.
At the jatra, there are around 70,000 'dhonds', and they have to walk over the 'homkund' within three hours before the goddess Lairai walks over the 'homkund'. The committee needs two to three more days to corroborate the evidence collected during the inquiry.
Gawas recalled the way the area has changed over the years. 'When I was a child, I saw the compound wall way behind the main road. Now, the population has increased, and the compound wall has reached near the road,' he said.
Chief secretary V Candavelou said that the committee is still talking to people. 'It will take some time to submit the report. The committee is in the village to conduct the inquiry.'
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