People present during the stampede during the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha said- there was an entry and exit by the same route. The exit gate was closed. VIP entry was being done from there. There was no separate route for common devotees. The police could not handle the mob.
Meanwhile, two trucks laden with worship materials entered in front of the chariot, causing many devotees to collide with the truck. This caused a stampede. An eyewitness said that there was no policeman on the spot at the time of the accident. The ambulance was one km away. People took the injured on their hands.
Eyewitnesses said that the system near the temple was deteriorated since night. The polythene on which the devotees were sitting on the rain became slippery, causing people to fall.
In Puri, there was a stampede near Gundicha temple during the Jagannath Rath Yatra at 4:20 am on Sunday morning. Three devotees died in it. More than 50 injured. The accident occurred in front of Gundicha temple, about 3 km from the Jagannath temple. Here there was a huge crowd to see Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh Rath.
Jagannath ji’s chariot reached later, people got vying for darshan
In the Rath Yatra of Puri, the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are parked in front of their aunt’s house for 9 days in front of Gundicha temple. The chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra had reached here earlier. Jagannath Rath reached later, which caused people to see him.
Meanwhile, there was a stampede, in which many people were crushed by falling. It is being told that there was not enough police force deployed there at the time of the incident. Those killed in the accident are Basanti Sahu (36), Premkanti Mahanti (78) and Prabhati Das. Their bodies are kept in Puri Medical College.
