Accident at haridwar at 9am…Mansa devi temple condition of four injured serious,orders of majisterial inquiry issued
Rumors of electric shock create panic
Haridwar Mansa devi :- A stampede broke out on Sunday due to rumors of electric current spreading on the Mansa Devi temple footpath. Eight devotees, including a ten-year-old child, lost their lives in the accident. 28 people were injured. Four of them are in critical condition. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident.
The accident happened around 9 am when the devotees were climbing the stairs on a very narrow path. An eyewitness told that some people were climbing the stairs holding the wire. During this, it was said that some wires got peeled and they got electrocuted. This panicked the people and created chaos. People started falling on each other. About 800 stairs have to be climbed to reach the temple built on the Shivalik hills. About 25 more stairs were left, then this accident happened. Haridwar police has termed the talk of electric current spreading as a rumor.
SSP Pramod Singh Doval said that the police force took the injured to the district hospital. Where Eight devotees died, 28 injured in stampede on Mansa Devi temple road.
Panic due to rumor of electric current spreading near Mansa devi temple
Accident at nine in the morning in Haridwar… Four injured in critical condition, magisterial inquiry ordered
Excessive crowd of devotees became the reason for the accident.
It was the first Sunday after the conclusion of Kanwar Yatra. A large number of devotees reached for darshan. After Har Ki Pauri, Mansa Devi is a big center of faith in Haridwar. Thousands of devotees come every day. There is usually a huge crowd here during Sawan. In the video made shortly before the stampede, people were crawling forward, very close to each other. Devotees say, the administration should have made proper arrangements in view of the possibility of crowd.
An innocent admitted in the hospital.
Among the six dead was :-
- Aarush (12), resident of Baraiti, UP. Rampur resident Vicky (18), Barabanki resident Wakil (58), Badaun resident couple Shanti (60) and Rambharose (65), Rampur resident Vishal (20), Araria-Bihar resident Shakaldev Bahardar (35) and Kashipur-Uttarakhand resident Vipin Saini (19).
People handling the injured on Baat Mandir Marg after the stampede.
The relatives of the hospital were declared dead. According to district officials, 15 injured have been referred to AIIMS Rishikesh. This includes deceased Wakil Verma’s wife Urmila and her companion Phoolmati, a resident of Barabanki. Eight are admitted to the district hospital and five to Payal Mela Hospital. Four admitted to AIIMS are in critical condition. President Draupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi have expressed deep condolences over the accident.
Help of Rs 7-7 lakh… CM Dhami
Reached Haridwar and enquired about the condition of the injured. Announced a help of 2 lakhs each to the families of the deceased and 50 thousand rupees each to the injured.
- Mansa Devi Trust and Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad will also give 5 lakhs each to the families of the deceased and one lakh each to the injured.
Eyewitness told – people returning after darshan pushed Mansha devi temple :
An Adhlu, Nirmala, admitted in the government hospital, said that the narrow path was jammed due to the crowd. People returning from the temple pushed those climbing up and then people started falling on each other. Nothing was visible due to the crowd.
Yogi expressed grief, announced financial help of 2 lakhs each to the families of the deceased
Adityanath has expressed grief over the death of devotees in the accident on the Mansa Devi temple road in Haridwar. He announced financial help of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The CM said in his condolence message that my condolences are with the bereaved families.
- The deaths of devotees in the stampede due to the rumor of electric current at the Mansa Devi temple once again point to the failure of crowd management policies. It should be the first duty of the administration and temple management to ensure that the faith of devotees in the system at religious places remains intact.
Faith and system
The death of many devotees and injuries of many in the stampede due to the rumor of electric current during darshan at the famous Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand is not just an accident caused by rumors, but also a mirror of administrative negligence and failure of crowd control. To reach this temple built on top of the mountain, one has to climb about 800 stairs. Some people said that people were climbing up holding the wires, during which the wires got peeled, due to which they got electric shock and there was chaos. However, the police called the talk of electric current spread as a rumor. Police say the accident happened due to the huge crowd at the temple, but the Mansa Devi temple, which is one of the Panch Teeths of Haridwar and attracts lakhs of devotees during the month of Shravan, is always a centre of crowd. This time, amid the huge crowd, the rumour of spark and current from an electric pole made the situation worse. There should have been arrangements for emergency exits to control the huge crowd in the month of Sawan and a concrete strategy to deal with rumours, which was lacking in the latest accident. This is not the first time that such an accident has happened at a religious place. Every year such incidents come to light at pilgrimage sites, which force us to think whether our priorities are in the right direction. Nothing should be more important than the safety of devotees in any religious place or event. This accident gives us a serious warning that in this age of social media and verbal communication, rumours spread like wildfire.
To prevent such unfortunate incidents in future, it is necessary that modern technology and CCTV surveillance be arranged for crowd control, necessary training be given to the administration and temple management to deal with rumours, there should be a system to immediately give correct information to the devotees in case of rumours and medical facilities should be ensured along with emergency evacuation routes. Apart from this, the administration should re-evaluate security audits and disaster management plans at all major religious places. This is the time to express deep condolences to the dead and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured, but also for the administration and temple management to ensure that the faith of the devotees in the system at religious places remains intact.
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