Jagannath stampede deaths

Blitz Bureau

NEW DELHI: At least three people, including two women, died and 10 others were injured in a stampede during the Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri on June 29. The incident occurred around 4.30 a.m. when the three raths carrying idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Shubhadra were near Shree Gundicha Temple, about three kilometres from Jagannath Temple.

As per reports, the holy chariots were at the Gundicha temple, and a large crowd had gathered for a darshan. As the crowd swelled, some people fell and a stampede began. Three people died on the spot. These include two women, Prabhati Das and Basanti Sahu, and 70-year-old Premakant Mohanty. All three, it is learnt, are from Khurda district and had come to Puri for the Rath Yatra. The condition of some of those injured is critical, according to reports.

The chariots were scheduled to reach the Gundicha temple by the evening of Friday. But they had to be stopped on Grand Road as Lord Balabhadra’s Taladwaja chariot got stuck while negotiating a turn, preventing the other two from advancing. While most rituals, including the Pahandi of the deities, were completed largely on schedule as per the Jagannath Temple Administration’s plans, the pulling of the chariots was significantly delayed, leading to discontent among the gathered devotees. The chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra — Taladhwaja and Darpadalana — stopped midway, while Nandighosha, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, moved only a short distance from the Lion Gate (Singhadwar) before halting.

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