In Puri, during Lord Jagannath’s chariot festival, a stampede occured between 4 and 5 am on Sunday. The stampede occurred when the chariot ‘Nandi Ghosh’ reached the Gundicha temple. Three devotees died and many others were injured.
The three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra reached the Gundicha temple. Immediately, a huge crowd gathered for darshan. In the jostling crowd, the barriers put up to control the emerging assemblage fell. This is when a stampede-like situation arose. Many devotees fell near the wheels of the chariot, due to which three people lost their lives.
The deceased were identified as Basanti Sahu, a resident of Bolagarh in Khordha district. Premkant Mohanty and Prabhati Das were residents of Athantara village in Balianta block.
Huge Crowd Pressure
On Friday, for the first day of the yatra, more than 10 lakh devotees reached Puri. By Friday evening, more than 625 people had fallen ill near the chariot of Devi Subhadra. On Saturday, a 10–20% decrease in the crowd was recorded. However, more than 650 devotees fell ill in the last 24 hours. Of these, 70 were admitted to the hospital, out of which the condition of nine remains critical.
The Annual Chariot Festival
On Saturday, the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra reached Sri Gundicha Temple. This temple, located 2.6 km away from the Jagannath temple, is thought to be Jagannathji’s aunt’s house. The three deities visit here for nine days every year.
On Friday, the celebration began with the worship of Lord Balabhadra. The procession began with his ‘Taldhwaj’ chariot at 4:08 pm. After this, the ‘Darpadalan’ chariot of Goddess Subhadra and finally the ‘Nandi Ghosh’ chariot of Lord Jagannath was pulled.
Puri’s Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingh Deb performed the ritual of ‘Chhera Pahra’ (cleaning of chariots) as per tradition.
Colourful wooden horses were mounted on the decorated chariots. Devotees pulled the chariots. The sound of drums and chants filled the atmosphere.
Also read: Devotees gather for Rath Yatra in Jagannath Puri: All you need to know about the temple
Security Arrangements
For the grand festival, the city of Puri has been secured in every way. Around 10,000 policemen have been deployed to handle the crowd of 15 lakh devotees. Also, surveillance has been arranged with AI-enabled cameras and drones. The state administration has expressed condolences to the families of the devotees killed in the accident. They have also assured proper treatment to the injured.
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