At least 29 people died and 60 were injured Tuesday in a stampede during the mahapushkaram, a Hindu religious festival bathing on the banks of Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.
The incident occurred at about 8 in Rajahmundry shortly after Prime Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his family took the holy dip and left the scene.
Some pilgrims trying to retrieve her shoes that had fallen from the rush caused the stampede as tens of thousands of people pushed forward to bathe in the Godavari in the first day of the festival, police said.
Witnesses said that several devotees tried to climb a fence along the popular Pushkar ghat while others pushed forward, triggering a stampede.
Naidu has been camping in the city from Monday to inspect arrangements, visited the accident site and hospitals.
“It is unfortunate that such loss of life occurred even after taking all precautions. The situation is because people who packed a ghat. We ask people not to panic and use other ghats to avoid overcrowding. Security pilgrims is the top priority for us and we provide all possible assistance, “Naidu said.
A visibly shaken Naidu also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh families of the deceased. “We will investigate how the incident occurred and the necessary measures will be taken against those responsible,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Naidu spoke by phone and then tweeted – .. “Deeply hurt by the loss of life My condolences to the families of those killed and wounded sentences with AP CM spoke to Naidu and discussed the situation with the government. the state is working to restore normalcy “.
Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao, who took the dip pushkaram in Dharmapuri in Telangana Godavari, also expressed shock at the tragedy.
It is expected that about 24 million people to participate in the festival at different points along the Godavari, which flows through the recently forked-state Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
About 275 ghats were developed by AP in the individual districts of East and West Godavari, but the rush is on the ghats of Pushkar in Rajahmundry, where the government also organized various events like fireworks.
Officials said a small place like Rajahmundry could not cope with the rush and the situation became almost unmanageable. Some pilgrims said ambulances took time to get there because the roads were crowded.
Devotees believe a dip in the river can get rid of their sins and thousands of them, traveling in buses, trains and other vehicles began arriving at pilgrimage center two days before the festival.
“There is a misconception that taking a holy dip in the river on the first day of the festival will be more auspicious,” said Swamy Swaroopanand, a holy man. V Satyanarayana, a pilgrim who was at the scene, said the stampede lasted about 20 minutes.
“It was a frightening situation, with women and children crying for help,” he said. “The police guards were helpless and took over an hour to bring the situation under control.”
