BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government's failure to enforce COVID-19 protocol and control the crowds led to a "near stampede-like" situation at the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, the Congress alleged on Tuesday.
A large number of devotees turned up at the temple on Monday, the first in the holy month of Shravan, despite coronavirus restrictions and the rush to enter briefly led to a chaotic situation.
"Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the (ruling) BJP make tall claims about managing the COVID-19 situation effectively. These claims proved hollow as no protocol was followed while allowing people to enter the temple, leading to a near stampede-like situation," state Congress leader Jitu Patwari told PTI.
"A huge crowd had gathered. People were seen pushing each other, throwing COVID-19 protocol to the wind," he said.
Because of the government's mismanagement, a large number of people have already succumbed to the viral infection in the state, the Congress leader alleged.
The state government must ensure crowd management at the temple by restricting entry and raising awareness, Patwari said. According to the temple's assistant administrator Moolchand Joonwal, around 8.
30 am on Monday a large number of people tried to enter the temple complex for `darshan' and broke the barricade at the gate number four.
"After the barricade broke, several people tried to run towards the main deity but thankfully there was no untoward incident. It was the first Monday of Shravan, so people were allowed to queue up for darshan in addition to the (time slot) booking facility," he told PTI.
"But the crowd that turned up was much larger than what we expected," he said. Eye-witnesses said social distancing norms were not followed as people formed queues.
Visits by "VVIPs" are making the problem worse, they said. Chief minister Chouhan and his family members visited the temple later on Monday.
Ujjain collector and Mahakal Mandir Samiti chairman Ashish Singh said people from all over the country landed in Ujjain on Monday.
As entry through other gates was restricted due to construction work, people gathered at the gate number four, leading to a rush, he said.
But nobody suffered any injury and the situation was brought under control immediately, he claimed.