Near stampede situation forced police to stop distribution of ‘Laddu’ prasadam of the Ganesh at Khairatabad midway and use mild force to disperse the crowds of devotees here on Friday.
One person, who was distributing ‘laddu’ standing atop the dais, sustained injuries as police dispersed the crowd using force. He was taken out hospital and discharged as outpatient. The ‘laddu’ weighing nearly 6,000 kilos is specially made at Tapeshwawram in Andhra Pradesh and brought to Khairatabad in city for the massive Vinayaka idol installed every year during Ganesh festival.
“Normally 2,000 to 3,000 devotees turn up to receive Laddu prasadam. This year too, everything was normal for first two hours when distribution started at 8 a.m.,” Central zone DCP V.B. Kamalasan Reddy told The Hindu.
Crowds of devotees swelled by 10 a.m. and they suddenly surged towards the dais breaking the steel barricades. As the situation was going out of danger, police rushed additional forces to brought the situation under control.
As the barricades couldn’t be restored immediately, police decided to stoop distribution of Laddu midway. It was announced through public address system. “Local Ganesh committee decided to send the Laddu to different temples where it would be distributed to devotees,” the DCP said.
