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Stampede at Mansa Devi: The Mansa Devi temple accident once again reveals the serious shortage of crowd control and security management at religious places. It is necessary that the administration will have to ensure better plans and arrangements than before in order to ensure that there is no such accidents in future.
Stampede at Mansa Devi: There was a stampede in the famous Mansa Devi temple of Haridwar on Sunday morning due to a huge crowd of devotees. In this accident, 8 people lost their lives and 30 were injured. The rumor of electric current is being described as the reason behind the accident. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry and announced financial assistance of 2 lakhs to the families of the deceased and ₹ 50,000 to the injured.
Rumor of electricity current became the reason for accident
A stampede broke out under the stairs of the temple at around 9 am on Sunday, when there was a rumor among the people that the current had spread there. SSP of Haridwar, Pramendra Singh Doval said that this rumor suddenly caused panic among the devotees and there was chaos. The Uttarakhand-State Disaster Management Authority confirmed that 8 people had died and 30 people were injured in the accident. Some devotees have been discharged after first aid, who have not been included in the injured list.
Chief Minister visited the spot
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami went to the district hospital and took care of the injured and assured the family of all possible help. He said, “There has been a stampede due to a rumor, strict action will be taken against the culprits.” The investigation of the incident has been submitted to the Additional District Magistrate of Haridwar, who will submit the report in 15 days and suggest measures to avoid such incidents.
President and Prime Minister expressed mourning
President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the accident. The President wrote on X, “The news of the death of many devotees in the stampede on the Mansa Devi temple route of Haridwar is extremely painful.” At the same time, Prime Minister Modi wrote, “My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. The injured should be healthy soon. The administration is helping the affected people every possible help.”
Serious injured sent to AIIMS
Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that Rishikesh AIIMS has been referred to five serious injured for better treatment. Those killed in the accident have been identified as Arush (12), Vipin Saini (18), Shakal Dev (18), Vicky (18), Vishal (19), Advocate (43), Shanti (60) and Ram Bharosa (65). All these were from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
Eyewitnesses narrated a painful scene
The injured devotee Nirmala said, “The crowd was going up, some were coming down, suddenly started to push and people started falling on each other. Something was not visible. I fell down and lay there.” Local people say that if the administration had already made adequate arrangements keeping in mind the possibility of crowd, then this accident could have been averted.
The path was filled with devotees
In the video of the incident, it was seen that women, men and children were standing clinging to each other on the narrow path of the temple. Some devotees were lifting the children above their heads so that they would not have their power in the crowd. The temple is situated on the Shivalik hills on the summit, where a huge crowd gathered on Sunday. This temple is considered to be one of the five pilgrimages of Haridwar.
DM’s statement on accident
Haridwar District Magistrate Mayur Dixit said that the primary reason for the accident was rumor of current spread near the stairs of the temple, but the truth will be clear only after detailed investigation. Rescuers are also conducting search operations on the bushes and along the road so that no other victim is left.
Also read: Mansa Devi: Another new incident joined the stampede of religious event; Learn when and when such accidents happened
