Fourteen persons were killed and over 50 injured when a large tent collapsed on a crowd of devotees in a sudden rain and squall, which led to a short circuit followed by electric current in the iron structure, during a religious congregation in Jasol village of Rajasthan’s Barmer district on Sunday. The deceased included two women and a 15-year-old boy.
Most of the victims were electrocuted as they were trapped under the tent which was uprooted by strong winds in the afternoon. Barmer Collector Himanshu Gupta said about 700 persons had assembled for listening ‘Ram Katha’ (Lord Ram’s story) at a local school ground, when the dust storm and downpour swept the venue.
The ‘Ram Katha’ was organised by the Mata Rani Bhatiyani Mandir Sansthan of Jasol, which had invited internationally acclaimed story-teller Muralidhar Maharaj to deliver his sermons. Muralidhar Maharaj, who had started Ram Katha on Saturday, warned the devotees of the tent falling on them in the middle of his talk and asked them to rush outside.
Mr. Gupta said 25 of those injured had been admitted to the Nahata Government Hospital in the nearby Balotra town and one person with burns was referred to Jodhpur. Doctors feared that the toll could increase as several injured persons were in a serious condition.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who ordered the district officers to investigate the cause, would go to Jasol on Monday to meet the injured.
He said the local administration was engaged in the rescue and relief work and was extending “every possible help” to those affected and their kin, including their medical treatment.
At an emergency meeting in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeev Swarup said medical teams from Jodhpur were being sent to Jasol and Balotra. An alert was sounded in the emergency wards of the government hospitals in Jodhpur, where the seriously injured would be shifted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and wished those injured an early recovery. “Collapse of ‘pandaal’ in Barmer is unfortunate. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and I wish the injured a quick recovery,” he tweeted.
