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Highlights
- Eyewitnesses have blamed the administration, saying not even COVID protocols had been being adopted
- Officers, nonetheless, have mentioned an altercation amongst some boys had led to the stampede incident
- A complete of 12 individuals have misplaced their lives, some are nonetheless receiving therapy in hospitals
Devotees on the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Katra’s witnessed a stampede on Saturday, which resulted within the demise of 12 individuals and injuring almost a dozen. Some survivors mentioned the ‘mismanagement’ was to be blamed for the tragedy. Nonetheless, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, denied the cost, saying all obligatory preparations had been made in view of the anticipated rush, whereas Jammu and Kashmir Director Normal of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh blamed a minor altercation for the “unlucky” incident.
“Nothing however mismanagement was the trigger for this tragic accident. They had been conscious of the potential rush however allowed the individuals in unhindered,” a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad mentioned whereas ready outdoors a mortuary to determine a lifeless physique.
The person, who didn’t want to be named, mentioned this example may have been averted if the authorities had managed the pilgrimage higher.
“An analogous state of affairs had occurred minutes earlier however fortunately none was damage and the state of affairs was managed. We had been a part of a bunch of 10 devotees – all neighbours. A heavy rush triggered the stampede as individuals had been going out and in, and everybody was in a rush,” he mentioned.
Many individuals had been resting on the ground, as a substitute of heading again, and it triggered extra rush on the bhawan, he added.
Prem Singh, from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, mentioned there was a whole mess as neither was the variety of pilgrims restricted nor had been COVID-19 pointers in drive.
“It was a free-for-all-like state of affairs. Many individuals had been with out obligatory face masks,” he mentioned, claiming that police personnel on responsibility on the X-ray checking level surrendered to the heavy rush and had been warning individuals about the potential for such an accident.
One other man, who misplaced his buddy, Arun Pratab Singh (30), mentioned they’d come from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The bhawan was overcrowded, he added.
“I had visited the shrine about 10 years in the past however was shocked by the heavy rush this time. After the tragedy, we discovered ourselves helpless and received no assist until 6 am,” he alleged.
Rani Devi of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur mentioned they had been lucky to have escaped demise.
“I noticed many individuals lifeless on the ground and was heartbroken,” she mentioned, blaming it on the “uncontrolled rush” of pilgrims on the bhawan.
Aditya Sharma, one other devotee, mentioned some individuals who had been sleeping on the ground received crushed within the stampede.
Following the incident, many pilgrims had been seen leaving Katra, the bottom camp for the shrine, with out paying obeisance.
“We’re from Pathankot. We returned from the bhawan with out ‘darshan’ because of the stampede,” mentioned Rekha, who was accompanied by 5 different relations, together with three youngsters.
Nonetheless, many individuals had been seen ready in lengthy queues to go to the shrine because the pilgrimage continued unaffected.
“Now we have been ready for 5 hours however nothing is shifting,” mentioned Navdeep of Karnal in Haryana.
Chief govt officer of the shrine board Ramesh Kumar, who was among the many first to achieve the scene to take inventory of the state of affairs and go to the injured on the Narayana hospital, couldn’t be contacted for remark.
One other official of the board, who wished to not be named, mentioned satisfactory preparations, together with safety, had been in place because of the anticipated rush of pilgrims.
The DGP mentioned preliminary data from the scene suggests there was an altercation amongst some younger boys, and inside seconds, there was a stampede state of affairs.
“Police and officers from the civil administration had been fast to reply, and the order inside the crowd was instantly restored, however by that point, the injury had been carried out,” he mentioned.
Senior BJP chief and former legislator Devender Singh Rana, who interacted with the pilgrims to take inventory of the state of affairs, mentioned the incident was the primary of its sort to happen on the shrine.
“It’s a tragic incident and a tragic second for all of us. The entire administration is working to make sure the our bodies of the deceased are returned to their households and people injured are given satisfactory therapy,” he mentioned.
Rana mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi has additionally taken word of the incident and the Lieutenant Governor-led administration is doing its finest.
“That is no time for allegations or counter-allegations. It’s a tragedy that has occurred and no one ought to play politics over it,” he added.
No less than 12 individuals died and over a dozen had been injured within the stampede that occurred round 2.30 am close to gate quantity three outdoors the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine atop the Trikuta hills, about 50 km from Jammu.
(With inputs from PTI)
Additionally Learn | UPDATES and HIGHLIGHTS from Vaishno Devi stampede
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