Tragedy struck Jagannath devotees early Sunday (June 29) as three persons were killed and more than 50 were injured after a stampede broke out near Shri Gundicha Temple where the chariots carrying the devotees had reached the day before.
Sources said the stampede took place in front of the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Nandighosh. Sri Gundicha at the end of the 2.5 km Grand Road in Puri, is the final destination of the three chariots which are pulled by devotees from the Lion’s gate of the 12th century Jagannath temple in the town on the opening day of the nine-day Rath Yatra.
When the three chariots, which could not reach Sri Gundicha on Friday, the first day of the Yatra because of a number of reasons, finally arrived at their destination there was a rush among devotees for the “darshan” of the deities on their mounts.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered the transfer of two senior officers of the district, Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vinit Agrawal. Khurda Collector Chanchal Rana has been appointed as the new Puri Collector, and STF DIG Pinak Mishra will serve as the in-charge SP of the district. Majhi also ordered the suspension of DCP Bishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi for negligence in performing their duties.
The Chief Minister has ordered an administrative inquiry headed by Development Commissioner Anu Garg. He also announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each for the kin of the deceased persons. Secretary, higher education, Aravind Agarwal, has been given the overall charge of supervising the Rath Yatra.
Early on Sunday morning the press of the crowd near the chariots became unmanageable with allegations of crowd mismanagement against the temple administration and lack of adequate police arrangement at the place. In the chaos people fell over one another leading to a stampede like situation.
The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu from Bolagarh of Khorda district, Premakanti Mohanty, and Prabhati Das from Athantara village under Balianta block. Law minister Prithviraj Harichandan said an investigation was underway.
Harichandan said, “It is an unfortunate incident. We have taken note of that. I spoke with the CM this morning. We are taking stringent action. DGP has been sent to the spot. Three people have passed away because of suffocation in the huge gathering. Six to seven people are injured. I am going to Puri and also monitoring the situation over the phone. We are trying our best to manage the crowd. Additional police have been deployed. The reasons for the incident are being investigated. The situation is now under control and the people are having darshan”
Many people who visited the Sri Gundicha temple to have a glimpse of the deities atop the chariots expressed dissatisfaction with the crowd management of the authorities and also accused the administration of failing to make adequate police arrangements. “ The management was not good. VIP culture is being promoted which causes inconvenience for common devotees,” said an eyewitness. The traffic system was also criticized. “Many vehicles with unauthorised passes came near the temple. The administration did not control the crowd properly. The biggest problem was the exit gate,” said another person.
On a rough estimate this time over 10 lakh people attended the Rath Yatra on the opening day when crowd pressure caused injuries to around 625 people. Many others felt suffocated and were admitted to hospitals.
In another incident, three young women on their way to participate in Rath Yatra celebrations in Puri on Saturday died after they were run over by a bus on a highway connecting Bhubaneswar and Puri.
Amidst allegations of poor management the chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath reached their destination, the Sri Gundicha temple on Saturday. The temple is believed to be the home of the ‘aunt’ of the deities who leave the Jagannath temple, their original abode, every year to visit their ‘aunt’s’ home. The deities will move back to the main temple after nine days. The return Rath Yatra is called ‘Bahuda Yatra’ which will take place on July 5 this year.
Political sparring has begun over the stampede in Puri and the delay in the pulling of the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Friday. While the Opposition led by Biju Janata Dal has accused the BJP government of mishandling the situation resulting in delay and injuries to many devotees, the ruling BJP has slammed the opposition for trying to politicize a religious event.
Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted, “We aren’t here to point fingers or blame the administration for yesterday’s inordinate delay in pulling the Nandighosa chariot. But it’s impossible not to voice our deep concern and anguish over how things unfolded during the most sacred event in our State. It’s hard to forget how, last year, Lord Balabhadra’s idol slipped during the Adapa Bije Pahandi—a moment that left countless devotees shaken.”
Naveen further said, “And now this year, we witnessed Nandighosha ratha still standing at the Singhadwar till 7:45 PM, only to move a few metres before the day ended. That understandably has left lakhs of devotees who came from all over the world to witness this unique event completely disenchanted and disillusioned. Hundreds of devotees also got injured due to poor crowd management.”
He said, “All we can do is pray: “May Mahaprabhu Jagannath forgive all those responsible for the terrible mess that has overshadowed this divine festival this year. I hope it leads to deep introspection by all in the government.”
On Friday, the Nandighosh chariot of Lord Jagannath was hardly pulled for 15 metres from the Lion’s gate of the Shree Jagannath temple. Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra were also unable to reach to their destination,m the Gundicha Temple located 2.5 kilometres away from the Shiree Jagannath Temple, the 12th century abode of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
On Saturday the chariots were pulled again by the devotees and the police and they reached their designated place. Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani and his family members including wife Priti and son Karan joined the Rath Yatra on Saturday today morning in Puri.
