3 killed, 50 injured in Puri Rath Yatra; Odisha CM orders probe

Hindustan Times

a day ago

At least three people were killed and 50 others were injured in a stampede that broke out at the Gundicha temple in Puri district of Odisha on Sunday morning during the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said, adding that chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered an inquiry into the incident and offered ex gratia of ₹25 lakh each to families of the deceased. Thousands of devotees thronged the procession of the chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath in Puri, Odisha. (AP)
The incident took place around 4am when several devotees converged near the temple, 3km away from the main Jagannath temple, to witness the Rath Yatra festivities. Witnesses said that a crush was triggered after two trucks carrying Charamala wood for rituals entered the Saradhabal, a consecrated sandy open space in front of Gundicha temple, where a crowd of 1,500 devotees were waiting to catch a glimpse for the deities on charities to be unveiled.
'People just fell over each other in a matter of seconds and many fell unconscious. I rushed to the information centre seeking help, but they could not do anything,' said Biswajit Das, husband of deceased Pravati Das, who was part of the crowd in Saradhabali. 'Even ambulance was stationed at least a kilometre away.'
'When the trucks carrying charmala wood entered Saradhabali, the devotees who had assembled near the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra surged towards the chariot of Lord Jagannath. As the area was too small, people started running in a disorganised way. Many fell down and were trampled upon,' said a district official requesting anonymity.
At least three people were killed and 50 others were injured in the incident, said Puri district collector Sidharth Shankar Swain. Six have been critically injured and are being treated in ICU. The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu (36) of Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das of Balipatna (42), of Khordha district, officials said.
Another witnessAshwasana said that the crowd swelled after temple authorities shut the gates of the chariot at midnight, depriving many devotees an opportunity to see the deities through the night. 'Usually, the gates are not closed after the deities reach the Gundicha temple on chariots,' she said. 'This year for no reason, they stopped it after midnight and it led to surge in crowd who were anxious to see the deities.'
Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the incident and directed authorities to initiate action against those responsible. 'Personally, my government and I seek forgiveness from all Jagannath devotees. We express our condolences to the families of those devotees whose lives were lost at Saradhabali and pray to Mahaprabhu Jagannath to grant them the strength to bear this profound sorrow,' he said in a post on X in Odia. 'This negligence is unforgivable. An immediate investigation into the security lapses will be conducted, and I have directed that necessary steps be taken to initiate exemplary action against those responsible.'
The chief minister's office later announced ex gratia of ₹25 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. An administrative inquiry under the supervision of the state development commissioner was also ordered to probe the stampede.
As part of punitive measures following the incident, the state government ordered the transfer of collector Swain and superintendent of police Vineet Agarwal, alongside suspension of deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Bishnu Pati and commandant Ajay Padhi.
Higher education department secretary Aravind Agrawal was given charge of supervising the ongoing Rath Yatra festival in Puri, with additional director general of police (modernisation) Soumendra Priyadarshi handling the security for the event, according to orders issued by the state government.
'The chief minister said that the Rath Yatra of Mahaprabhu is the pride and glory of our Odia nation. Any negligence will not be tolerated in this. Action will be taken against all those responsible,' the CMO said in a post on X.
The incident came two days after at least 600 people fell ill on Friday as a crowd of over a million people converged on the temple town for the annual Rath Yatra amid extreme heat which was exacerbated by humidity.
The opposition, led by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and former CM Naveen Patnaik, criticised the government over the alleged lack of state machinery to manage the crowd.
'Eyewitnesses report that the initial response to this horrific tragedy came from the devotees' relatives, with no government machinery present to manage the surging crowds, highlighting a shocking lapse in duty,' Patnaik said in a post on X. 'While I refrain from accusing the government of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness has undeniably contributed to this tragedy.'
Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandh and Mallikarjun Kharge also condoled the deaths in the stampede, saying the incident was a reminder about the need for crowd control management.
'This tragedy is a serious warning – for such large events, security arrangements and crowd management preparations must be taken seriously and thoroughly reviewed. Protecting lives is paramount, and no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable,' Gandhi said on X.
Kharge, meanwhile, said those responsible for this tragedy must be held accountable under the law. 'The negligence and mismanagement that led to this tragedy are inexcusable,' he said on X. 'The state government and authorities must conduct a thorough investigation into the grave lapses that caused this incident. Ensuring public safety and effective crowd management is paramount, especially during pre-planned festivities.'