PURI: Two devotees fell sick and had to be hospitalised after a huge rush was reported in Sri Jagannath Temple here on Sunday. Divya Sahu, a minor girl from Cuttack’s Pithapur and 65-year-old Sulochana Sahu of Puri fell unconscious. They were rushed to district headquarters hospital. Both were later discharged.
Additional SP Mihir Panda maintained there was no stampede inside the temple. Devotees feel suffocation due to the rush, he added.
The footfall of devotees to Srimandir has been on the rise, particularly on weekends and holidays. Devotees wait for hours in the queue to enter into temple for darshan. On Sunday too, there was a huge rush and devotees were eagerly waiting for the temple doors to open. While Panda said adequate police arrangement was made for smooth conduct of darshan, locals are of the view that devotees are getting tired waiting in the queue for hours together.