Six devotees died and 29 others were injured in a stampede in the Mansa Devi temple area in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. A police officer gave this information.
Expressing deep grief over the incident, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magistrate inquiry and also announced financial assistance of two lakh rupees to the families of the deceased.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over this incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Haridwar Pramendra Doval said that on receiving information about the stampede at nine in the morning, the police and other rescue teams immediately reached the spot and started rescue and relief operations.
He said that about 35 devotees were admitted to the hospital, out of which six devotees have been confirmed the death.
Doval said that other people are being treated, some of whom have been sent to a higher health center in view of the critical condition of some.
He said that a rumor of electric current suddenly spread near the stairs about 100 meters below the temple and it seems prima facie that it probably caused a stampede.
However, he has asked for a detailed investigation into the incident.
Due to the month of Sawan, there is a huge crowd in the Mansa Devi temple these days and a large number of devotees were constantly going towards the temple from the narrow ladder route at the time of the incident.
Haridwar District Magistrate Mayur Dixit said that several electric wires have been broken by the spot, which seems that due to the crowd, people themselves would have tried to climb up by holding the wire.
State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that five people have been seriously injured in the accident, who have been referred to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.
He informed that the state government has issued helpline numbers for information about the incident in Mansa Devi.
State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed the officials to provide all possible assistance to the victim families.
In a social media post, the Chief Minister said that the state government is standing firmly with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.
The Chief Minister said that financial assistance of two lakh rupees will be given to the families of the people who lost their lives in the incident and 50-50 thousand rupees to the injured.
Dhami ordered the District Magistrate of Haridwar to investigate the incident and said that in future, crowd management and security arrangements are being reviewed to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
The Prime Minister wrote on the social media forum ‘X’, “I am very sad about the death of people due to a stampede on the route to Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. I express condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I wish the injured to get well soon. The local administration is assisting the victims. ”
