In a tragic incident, seven people, including 3 women, were killed while 35 others were injured on Monday morning at the Siddheshwarnath Temple in Bihar's Jehanabad. The incident occurred at the Vanavar hill of Makhdumpur block. The injured were rushed to the hospital in Makhdumpur and Jehanabad. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expresses grief over the loss of lives in a stampede at Baba Siddhnath Temple in Makhdumpur of Jehanabad district. The Bihar CM ordered ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakhs to the next of kin of each of the victim
The incident occurred on the fourth Monday of the holy Sawan month when the rush inside the temple generally increases. Witnesses present in the temple said that there was a crowd of devotees in the Sideshwarnath temple since Sunday night. The stampede occurred around 1 am in the night. All the people present in the temple started running to save their lives, due to which dozens of people fell on the temple premises and were seriously injured.
Earlier on July 2, the deadly stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras claimed over 120 fatalities. The stampede occurred at a congregation led by Baba Narayan Hari, also known as 'Bhole Baba.' The stampede occurred during the Satsang (prayer meeting) which was attended by thousands. The event, which was privately organized, had received permission from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh had said overcrowding was one of the reasons behind the deadly incident.
This tragic incident is not unprecedented, as stampedes at temples and religious gatherings in India have claimed many lives over the years. Notable among these are the stampede at Maharashtra's Mandhardevi temple in 2005, which resulted in the deaths of more than 340 devotees, and the 2008 tragedy at Rajasthan's Chamunda Devi temple, where at least 250 people were killed. Another stampede at a religious gathering at Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh caused the loss of lives of 162 people in 2008.
(Reported by: Mukesh Kumar)
