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Business Standard
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Goa stampede unprecedented, Governor Pillai visits families of deceased
He visited and met the family of the deceased Sagar Nandadurgi at Mathwada, Pilgaon, Bicholim who lost his life in the tragic stampede at the Shree Devi Lairai Zatra at Shirgao ANI Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai on Sunday visited the houses of the deceased in the Shirgaon Jatra stampde. He visited and met the family of the deceased Sagar Nandadurgi at Mathwada, Pilgaon, Bicholim who lost his life in the tragic stampede at the Shree Devi Lairai Zatra at Shirgao, as per a release from the Goa Government. The Governor termed the stampede an unprecedented tragedy in the state's history, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu have expressed deep shock over the incident and conveyed their condolences to the victims. "This is the first time such a stampede has happened in Goa. Six people lost their lives and 80 people were injured. PM Modi and all others are shocked," said the Governor while speaking to the media after visiting injured victims at the hospital. He added, "We conveyed the condolences of the Prime Minister and the President to them. The state government is taking all necessary steps on medical and financial matters." Governor Pillai confirmed that four of those injured are in serious condition and assured that proper care is being provided. "Today I visited the hospital and met the doctors. The state government has already announced compensation, Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for each of the injured," he said. The stampede occurred during the annual Shirgaon Jatra festival on Saturday. The Governor also and met the family of the deceased Shri. Surya Nayekar at Podocem, Sattari, met the family of the deceased Yeshwant Kerkar, Master Aditya Kauthankar and Tanuja Kauthankar at Thivim, Sagar Nandadurgi at Mathwada, Pilgaon and Pratibha Kalangutkar at Mangado, Corlim. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visited Shirgao after a stampede occurred during the Lairai Devi jatra, resulting in six deaths and over several injuries. The stampede incident took place on Saturday at around 4-5 AM. Goa Chief Minister directed the state administration to conduct an inquiry into the incident. Sawant said that this is the first such incident in Goa, and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called to enquire about the situation. Speaking to ANI, Pramod Sawant said, "The unfortunate stampede incident took place today at around 4-5 AM. This is the first time a stampede incident has taken place in Goa. I have reached the spot right now. I met the injured at different hospitals. Six people died in the incident. I have asked the State administration to conduct an inquiry into the incident... PM Modi called me and enquired about the incident." President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed grief over the tragic incident of the stampede in Shirgao, Goa, which claimed six lives. The State Government on May 3 has directed all Government supported festive programmes and public celebrations scheduled over the next three days be cancelled or postponed, in view of the tragic stampede incident. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Hindu
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Goa stampede: Fact-finding committee begins probe into incident; Governor meets victims' kin
Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai on Sunday (May 4, 2025) visited the families of those who died in a stampede in north Goa's Shirgao village in Bicholim taluk, where tens of thousands of devotees had thronged to participate in the annual 'Lairai Jatra' at the Shree Lairai Devi temple. The Governor met the families of Sagar Shivkumar Nandadurgi (31) from Pilgaon in Bicholim, and Surya Pandurang Nayekar (62) from Khalapwada, Podocem, Sattari tehsil. #WATCH | Shirgaon Jatra stampede | Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai says, "...6 people lost their lives and 80 people were injured. For the first time in the history of Goa, such a type of stampede has happened. PM Modi and all others are shocked. We conveyed the condolences of… — ANI (@ANI) May 4, 2025 The four others who died in the tragic incident were Yeshwant Prabhakar Kerkar (33) from Madel, Thivim; Aditya Ankush Kauthankar (16) and Tanuja Shyamsundar Kauthankar (51), both from Avchit Wado, Thivim; and Pratibha Laxman Kalangutkar (54) from Tilu Kankonkar, Mangado, Corlim. 'This incident is beyond human expectation. State and Central governments are trying their best to help the victims. The State government has already announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for the kin of those who died, and if something more is required, it will be done,' the Governor told media persons. Also read: Goa stampede: Minor incident happened at same site during last year's fest, says official Nandadurgi's 60-year-old mother, Sonia Nandadurgi, has not eaten since she heard of the death of her son. 'My only son, why did this happen to him?' she cried, seeing the Governor at her home, along with police officials and medical staff. 'Sagar lost his father when he was a child and since then, my sister has been living here. Only two years ago, he got a job in a bank's loan recovery department. Last year, he plastered the house. He has been a dhond (devotees of the deity, Laira Devi, who perform austerities before the yatra) for the last two years. He left home at 5.30 p.m. in a bus that goes to the temple, along with six of his friends. When the other dhonds pushed from behind, he fell on the road. Over 25 people fell on him and walked over him. He couldn't survive. Since he was the only working person in the family, there is no financial support for my sister anymore. We have read in the newspapers that the government has announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the families of those who died but when the officials visited us, they did not mention anything about it,' Sagar's maternal uncle, Sainath Kavlekar (45), who lives next door, said. The Goa Government has formed a fact-finding committee headed by Commissioner-cum-Revenue Secretary Sandeep Jacques, who is expected to submit a report in a couple of days. A police official said that the committee is currently recording the statements of senior officials in-charge of crowd management to understand what went wrong. The committee learnt that a similar incident occurred last year, but did not result in fatalities or injuries. 'The slope is a narrow road and with stalls on both sides, and the area becomes even narrower. The committee is investigating why, despite being aware of the situation, precautions were not taken. Why did the temple committee allow stalls to be put up on both sides of the road leading to the temple. We are also examining whether a fight had broken between two groups of dhonds or a stick touched the bulb of a shop on the road, causing a short circuit, and some fell down and died on the spot,' the official said. 'Why is the temple committee being blamed for an incident that happened at least a kilometre away from the temple premises? It was an unfortunate accident that happened which no one could imagine would ever occur. We are being questioned on preparedness. It is unfair,' Dinanath Gaonkar, president of the Shree Lairai Devi Temple Committee said. Opinion: The science is clear, crowd disasters are preventable On Sunday (May 4, 2025), the Congress MP from south Goa, Viriato Fernandes, was criticised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his felicitation, with a shawl and flowers, by the temple committee. BJP spokesperson Giriraj Pai Vernekar called it 'a shameful act', especially when the State was mourning the tragic loss of lives. Goa is observing a three-day period of mourning, from May 3 to May 5, over the tragic loss of lives. 'No government event will take place till Monday (May 5, 2025),' the official said. On Saturday (May 3, 2025) night, the Governor visited the injured persons admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital.
News18
03-05-2025
- News18
Goa Stampede: CM Sawant Orders Magisterial Inquiry After 6 People Killed At Temple Festival
The incident occurred around 3 am on Saturday at Sree Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao village, about 40 km from Panaji. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said a magisterial inquiry will be conducted into the stampede at a temple festival in North Goa, in which at least six persons were killed and more than 70 others injured. The incident occurred around 3 am on Saturday at Sree Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao village, about 40 km from Panaji. The stampede broke out as thousands of devotees thronged the narrow lanes to the temple for the annual festival. Sawant visited the state-run North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa, where some of the injured were admitted. Later, he also visited the site of the stampede. In a message posted on X in the afternoon, the CM said, "A magisterial inquiry will be instituted to thoroughly investigate the incident at the Shirgaon Jatra. I will shortly be chairing a high-level meeting to review the entire situation and ensure appropriate action is taken." Talking to reporters at the site earlier in the day, Sawant said he has asked for a detailed inquiry into the incident. "We will make the report public," he said. He said precautions would be taken for all temple festivals in the state to prevent such incidents. First Published:
