BHOPAL: A 24-year-old youth from Khandwa district tragically died after being crushed by a brand-new Ganesh idol, which reportedly toppled due to pothole-ridden roads in Burhanpur district, southwestern Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday night.
The fatal incident occurred in the Lalbagh area of Burhanpur city when members of the Hatkeshwar Ganesh Mandal, based in neighbouring Khandwa district, were transporting a newly crafted 12-foot-high Ganesh idol for installation during the upcoming Ganpati Puja festival.
The idol was being carried on a tempo trolley when it lost balance on a poorly maintained stretch of road near Tulsi Mall. It toppled onto 24-year-old Shashank Joshi, believed to be associated with the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Khandwa.
Shashank was critically injured after being crushed under the collapsed idol. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The incident sparked outrage among locals, who blamed the authorities for failing to maintain the roads, leading to the tragedy. Om Azad, a local spokesperson of the Hindu Mahasabha, directly held the administration and municipal corporation responsible for the accident caused by dangerous road conditions.
Upon learning of the incident, Burhanpur Circle SP Gaurav Patil rushed to the scene and managed to pacify the angry crowd.
The post-mortem was conducted during the night, and Shashank’s last rites were performed in his native Khandwa district on Sunday.
Additional SP (Burhanpur) A.S. Kanesh and Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Veer Singh Chauhan were present at the hospital overnight to ensure the situation remained under control.
Meanwhile, the damaged idol, meant for installation in Khandwa, was immersed in the Tapti River in Burhanpur on Sunday.
Following the incident, the Burhanpur district administration reportedly sealed the Samrat Maurya Art workshop, where the Ganesh idol had been made. Around 40 idols, worth over ₹10 lakh, were stored there for delivery to various Puja pandals in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
According to official sources, the administration had capped the maximum height for Ganesh idols at 10 feet, but the workshop allegedly created idols ranging between 12 and 18 feet. Most of these were meant for pandals in neighbouring Maharashtra, where Ganesh Utsav is one of the most celebrated festivals.
However, Sarita Maurya, head of the Samrat Maurya Art workshop, defended her team, stating, “The idol was properly packed and handed over to the organisers. The mishap occurred due to poor road conditions, not any fault of the workshop.”
This was not the first incident of its kind in Burhanpur. Just two days earlier, another newly made Ganesh idol had collapsed due to poor road conditions on Ichhapur Road. Following that, authorities began patchwork repairs on the damaged roads.
The incident also revived memories of a similar mishap in Gwalior in September 2024, when a 22-foot idol collapsed due to potholes on Shinde ki Chhawani–Nawab Sahab ka Kuwa Road. That incident injured two people, including a woman, just hours before the idol was to be installed at a local Ganesh Puja mandal in Khallasipura.
These recurring accidents have renewed public anger and raised serious questions about civic negligence ahead of one of India’s most important festivals.