
Lens on VIP culture in Puri stampede aftermath
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Bhubaneswar: VIP culture has come under focus a day after three persons died following a stampede outside Gundicha Temple in Puri. Family members of the deceased alleged that while devotees struggled to catch a glimpse of the deities atop the chariots, police escorted VIP guests right up to the Raths, a charge denied by the police.
According to the bereaved, like previous years, barricades were installed around the three chariots to prevent devotees from touching or boarding them, a policy which is in tune with a 2014 Orissa high court order that allows only duty-bound servitors of Jagannath Temple to access the chariots.
Dilip Sahu, whose wife Basanti (42) is among the dead, said Rath Yatra festival appeared to cater to VIPs. "I am not claiming that the stampede occurred because of VIP darshan.
Despite the barricade regulations, police were seen escorting certain high profile visitors within the barricaded zone, allowing them closer access to the chariots. Ordinary devotees struggled amidst overcrowding outside the fences," Sahu said.
Sahu spoke of his children's distress and shock at their mother's death. "My 13-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter, who survived, are traumatised. They haven't stopped crying since seeing their mother's body.
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Our family is devastated," said Sahu, a resident of Bolagarh area in Khurda district.
Devotees expressed their desire for basic amenities, emphasising the need for effective crowd management and ease of darshan. Biswajit Das from Balianta area near Bhubaneswar, who lost his wife Prabhati (52) in the stampede, said, "We have no issues with VIP darshan system. It didn't result in the stampede. However, the complete neglect of common devotees is wrong.
We were abandoned without police support."
Devotees alleged that despite police presence near the chariots, they neither managed the crowd nor provided immediate assistance when the tragedy occurred. "The police response was abysmal and inadequate. Their numbers were insufficient and barely visible in the crowd," Das said.
Denying the allegations, police said VIP darshan was not going on at the time of the stampede.
"The unfortunate incident happened despite adequate police deployment," a senior police officer said.
The govt said the high-level investigation team would examine all contributing factors behind the stampede. "The probe team will analyse all possible causes of the mishap and suggest actions to the govt. The administrative inquiry is expected to be completed within a month," law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said.
The probe committee, headed by development commissioner Anu Garg, visited the stampede site near Gundicha Temple and launched the investigation. She held a discussion with senior officers including new Puri collector Chanchal Rana and SP Pinak Mishra.

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