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Time of India
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Goa stampede: Police directives on CCTV cameras, barricades not implemented ahead of temple fest
A tragic stampede at the Shree Lairai Temple festival in Goa, claiming six lives, has sparked controversy. Despite police directives to install CCTV cameras and barricading for crowd control, the temple committee failed to implement these measures. The committee cited insufficient time for CCTV installation and past injuries due to barricades as reasons for non-compliance. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in India The committee managing the Shree Lairai Temple failed to implement the Goa police 's directives to install CCTV cameras for the annual festival, during which six people lost their lives in a stampede, an official said on Monday. The official, quoting the minutes of a meeting held days before the tragedy, said the temple committee was also requested to make necessary arrangements for queues with proper barricading wherever temple authorities, however, said there wasn't enough time to install the CCTV cameras, as the meeting was held just a couple of days before the people were killed, and more than 70 sustained injuries after a stampede broke out during an annual festival at Shree Lairai Temple at Shirgao village of North Goa in the wee hours of police, district administration and Shree Lairai Temple committee held a meeting on April 30 ahead of the festival, during which the temple authorities were asked to install CCTV cameras at the entry and exit points and place "proper barricading wherever possible".The meeting was attended by then Superintendent of Police (North) Akshat Kaushal, then Deputy Superintendent of Police (Bicholim) Jivba Dalvi, Deputy Collector (Bicholim) Bhimnath Khorjuvekar, Temple committee president Dinanath Gaonkar and minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with PTI, state, "The temple committee is asked to install CCTVs at all the entry and exit points, crowded areas, near temple and Homkhand, along with CCTV control room for which police staff also would be provided."As per the minutes, the temple committee was also requested to make necessary arrangements for queues with proper barricading wherever required and asked to assist the police in crowd control and management during the contacted, temple committee president Dinanath Gaonkar said they didn't have enough time to install the CCTV cameras."You require at least 10 to 15 days to install these cameras. The meeting was held only a couple of days before the festival," he said the barricading was not done as devotees had suffered injuries because of it in the temple committee said they have deposed before the fact-finding committee probing into the stampede and provided all the details.
Hindustan Times
03-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
‘50,000 to 70,000 people…': Head of Goa temple explains what led to deadly stampede
A stampede took place during the early hours of Saturday at the Lairai Devi Zatra temple in North Goa's Shirgao, killing six people and injuring several others as thousands jostled for space in narrow lanes of the shrine devoted to a goddess. Dinanath Gaonkar, the President of the Lairai Devi temple and an advocate, said the chaos may have started when one devotee touched a light bulb with his cane stick, got an electric shock, and fell onto others nearby, according to a news agency ANI report. Gaonkar said around 50,000 to 70,000 devotees were at the temple at the time of the incident. 'Around 50,000 to 70,000 Dhonds (followers of Lairai Devi) were here at the Zatra... People in the crowd were pushing each other to get ahead in the crowd... Many of us villagers tried to stop them and resolve the issue. But these people were just not ready to listen to us. During this, some people went to a shop here, during which one person's beth (cane stick) touched a bulb, and he suffered an electric shock. He fell on other people, and that's how the stampede started...,' ANI quoted Dinanath Gaonkar as saying. North Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshat Kaushal said that they are still looking into what exactly caused the incident. He mentioned that over 50,000 people were inside the temple when the stampede happened and that nearly 400 police officers were on duty at the time. "We are still trying to determine the exact cause of the incident. However, we have been told that the stampede might have happened due to some people spreading rumours... The biggest challenge for us was to peacefully vacate more than 50,000 people who were inside the temple for the (Larai) Zatra. Around 400 police personnel were deployed here for the Zatra. This is the first time something like this has happened on this occasion," SP Kaushal said. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant also visited the temple site later that day to assess the situation. The stampede happened around 4-5 am on Saturday. The Goa government ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. (With inputs from ANI)
NDTV
03-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"50,000 To 70,000 People Were Present": President Of Goa Temple On Stampede
Panaji: Lairai Devi temple President, advocate Dinanath Gaonkar, on Saturday, stated that the stampede during the Zatra in Shrigao was triggered when a devotee accidentally touched an electric bulb with his cane stick, received a shock, and collapsed onto others in the tightly packed crowd. Gaonkar further mentioned that approximately 50,000 to 70,000 Dhonds (followers of Lairai Devi) had gathered for the Zatra. "Around 50,000 to 70,000 Dhonds (followers of Lairai Devi) were here at the Zatra... People in the crowd were pushing each other to get ahead in the crowd... Many of us villagers tried to stop them and resolve the issue. But these people were just not ready to listen to us. During this, some people went to a shop here, during which one person's beth (cane stick) touched a bulb, and he suffered an electric shock. He fell on other people, and that's how the stampede started..." Lairai Devi temple President, advocate Dinanath Gaonkar, said. North Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshat Kaushal on Saturday said that we are still trying to determine the exact cause of the stampede incident at the Shirgao. Kaushal informed that over 50,000 people were present inside the temple for the (Larai) Zatra, and around 400 police officers were on duty. And, he further added that this is the first time such an incident has happened at the festival. Speaking to ANI, North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal said, "We are still trying to determine the exact cause of the incident. However, we have been told that the stampede might have happened due to some people spreading rumours... The biggest challenge for us was to peacefully vacate more than 50,000 people who were inside the temple for the (Larai) Zatra. Around 400 police personnel were deployed here for the Zatra. This is the first time something like this has happened on this occasion." Earlier in the day, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visited Shirgao, where the stampede incident occurred. The stampede incident took place on Saturday at around 4-5 AM.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Stampede triggered by electric shock': Lairai Devi temple President; 50,000-70,000 devotees gathered at Shirgao Zatra
NEW DELHI: Lairai Devi temple President, advocate Dinanath Gaonkar, on Saturday stated that the stampede during the Zatra in Shirgao was triggered when a devotee accidentally touched an electric bulb with his cane stick, received a shock, and collapsed onto others in the tightly packed crowd. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Gaonkar further mentioned that approximately 50,000 to 70,000 Dhonds (followers of Lairai Devi) had gathered for the Zatra. "Around 50,000 to 70,000 Dhonds (followers of Lairai Devi) were here at the Zatra... People in the crowd were pushing each other to get ahead in the crowd... Many of us villagers tried to stop them and resolve the issue. But these people were just not ready to listen to us. During this, some people went to a shop here, and one person's beth (cane stick) touched a bulb, and he suffered an electric shock. He fell on other people, and that's how the stampede started..." said Lairai Devi temple President, advocate Dinanath Gaonkar. North Goa Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshat Kaushal on Saturday said that police are still trying to determine the exact cause of the stampede incident at Shirgao. Kaushal informed that over 50,000 people were present inside the temple for the (Larai) Zatra, and around 400 police officers were on duty. He further added that this was the first time such an incident had occurred at the festival. "We are still trying to determine the exact cause of the incident. However, we have been told that the stampede might have happened due to some people spreading rumours... The biggest challenge for us was to peacefully vacate more than 50,000 people who were inside the temple for the (Larai) Zatra. Around 400 police personnel were deployed here for the Zatra. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This is the first time something like this has happened on this occasion," SP Kaushal told ANI. Earlier in the day, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant visited Shirgao, where the stampede incident occurred. The stampede took place at around 4-5am on Saturday.
