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147 die in temple stampede

Sunny Sebastian

Tragedy strikes pilgrims on Jodhpur hillock ; Most victims are youth and men

— Photo: Courtesy Rajasthan Patrika

HORRENDOUS TRAGEDY: Some of the injured and their anxious kin wait for help, after the deadly stampede in the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur on Tuesday, the first day of the Navratra festival season. Several other pilgrims lie fatally crushed.

JAIPUR: Tragedy struck the Sun City of Jodhpur in western Rajasthan on the first day of the nine-day navaratra festivities on Tuesday when 147 pilgrims were killed in an early morning stampede outside the Chamunda Devi temple on a hillock adjoining the Mehrangarh Fort.

Most of the victims were either boys or men in the age group of 15-40 years. Fifty-nine people sustained injuries.

Of the deceased, two persons were from Sangli in Maharashtra, one from Punjab and the rest from Jodhpur and adjoining areas. The bodies of most of the victims were released to the relatives by afternoon.

The victims were either trampled to death or had died of suffocation. Some pilgrims standing in the men’s queue lost balance on the slopy terrain, made slippery by the flowing coconut water on the road leading to the hill shrine as old as the Jodhpur royal family established in 1459.

Chants turn into shrieks

The hill temple opens at 5.30 a.m. and the time for the installation (stapana) ceremony for the navaratras was between 6.23 a.m. and 7 .37 a.m. Around 9,000 people had gathered outside the shrine standing in queues on the 2-km mountain road.

The morning chants soon turned into shrieks of hapless victims as the commotion in the blind alley type of lanes led to unprecedented chaos.

Eyewitnesses talked about some pushing and shoving in the queue by some pilgrims for an early darshan.

The authorities here rejected reports of a bomb scare and denied any instance of eve-teasing.

“There were separate queues for men, women and children. As the stampede took place in the men’s queue all the victims happened to be men. People started falling over one another. The deaths were due to suffocation and choking,” Divisional Commissioner of Jodhpur Kiran Soni Gupta told The Hindu on phone.

Eyewitnesses said there was not a single drop of blood at the mishap site as the victims died of suffocation or by trampling.

About 20 people died on the spot and the others in the hospitals, including the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Mathura Das Mathur Hospital, Kamla Nehru Hospital and Goyal Hospital.

Ms. Gupta said 57 injured people were out of danger. The condition of two persons in the intensive care unit was critical.

Soon after the incident the authorities sealed the road to the temple.

The help of the Defence forces was sought in relief and evacuation of the affected. Rajasthan Governor Shailendra Kumar Singh, while expressing anguish over the catastrophe, felt temple premises in general should have better arrangements for pilgrims on special days.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who reached Jodhpur from Banswara in the afternoon, announced a relief of Rs.2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs.50, 000 to those seriously injured.

A distressed Ms. Raje, suffering from high fever, reportedly lost her balance at the Banswara helipad when she was informed about the tragedy.

She was to be escorted to the guesthouse of the Tripura Sundari temple for rest.

Probe ordered

Talking to journalists in Jodhpur visiting the hospitals, Ms. Raje said the Additional Chief Secretary would hold an inquiry into the circumstances which led to the tragedy.

The scion of the Jodhpur royal family, Gaj Singh, who visited the site, said he would institute a private inquiry into the mishap. Chamunda Devi is the family deity of the Jodhpur aristocracy.

The former Chief Minister and Congress general secretary, Ashok Gehlot, reached his hometown Jodhpur from Delhi after learning about the tragedy.

He visited the hospitals and sought public cooperation in relief.

Related Stories:

In pictures: Jodhpur Temple Stampede

Stampede near Naina Devi temple claims 146 lives

300 killed in Maharashtra temple stampede

39 killed in Kumbh Mela stampede

A tragedy at Sabarimala

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