Reports from the eastern Indian town of Puri indicate that a sudden crowd surge at a popular Hindu festival has resulted in three fatalities and numerous injuries.
According to Siddharth Shankar Swain, the senior government official in Puri, the incident occurred during the annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival. Tens of thousands of devotees had gathered at the Shree Gundicha Temple to witness Hindu deities being transported on chariots. In the ensuing rush, several individuals reportedly fainted or experienced respiratory distress.
Fifteen people were taken to a local government hospital, where three were pronounced dead. The remaining twelve have since been discharged. Autopsies are planned to determine the precise cause of death for the deceased.
The Rath Yatra is one of Hinduism’s most revered events, drawing hundreds of thousands of devotees from across India and around the world. It is a centuries-old tradition in which deities are paraded through the streets on elaborately decorated chariots.
This development follows earlier reports that highlight the challenges of managing large religious gatherings. Naveen Patnaik, a former top elected official of Odisha state, has raised questions about the preparedness of local authorities. He suggests there was a lack of government machinery present to manage the crowds, describing it as a “shocking lapse in duty.”
As we continue to monitor this story, it raises important questions about crowd control measures and the safety protocols in place for large-scale religious events.