KOLKATA: Three persons, including two women, died and several others fell ill in a stampede-like situation in extreme heat and humidity while attending a religious festival in North 24-Paraganas district’s Panihati on Sunday.
The devotees, who turned up at the venue, complained of mismanagement and lack of vigil by police. The organisers had to shut the entrance of the venue finding unexpected flow of devotees and the local authorities shut down the festival.
The incident occurred at the Danda Mahotsav (festival of punishment) organised every year at the ISKCON temple in Panihati. At least 50 devotees, who fell ill, were taken to the nearby healthcare centres.
"All three were brought dead to a local hospital,’’ said an official of district administration.
The deceased were identified as Subhash Chandra Pal, Shukla Pal and Chaya Das, all in their 50s and are residents of East Burdwan’s Purbasthali.
Offering her condolences, chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, ‘’Distressed to know of 3 old devotees’ death in Danda Mahotsav at ISKCON temple at Panihati. CP and DM have rushed, all help being provided. My condolences to the bereaved families, solidarity to devotees.’’
A large number of people gather at the venue every year to mark the arrival of Shri Chaitanyadev from Puri on the way to his abode at Nabadwip. ‘’This year the festival is organised after a gap two years because of pandemic. We expected a footfall of around 2.5 lakh people but the number was four fold high this year,’’ said state minister Jyotipriya Mullick.
Eyewitnesses told that there was common passage for both the incoming and outgoing devotees where the situation worsened. ‘’Many fell unconscious because of the pressure of the crown. There was no policeman to control the crowd,’’ said Tapan Byapari, one of the devotees who managed to come out of the festival venue.
Refuting the allegation that no medical camp was at the venue, an official of Panihati municipality said there were 12 health camps were set up near the venue to deal with any crisis situation.