2008 Jodhpur stampede
Encyclopedia
A human stampede occurred on September 30, 2008, at the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur
, Rajasthan
, India
, in which 249 people were killed and more than 400 injured. The 15th-century temple is dedicated to the goddess Chamunda
Devi
and is located within the premises of Mehrangarh Fort
.
About 25,000 Hindu
pilgrims were visiting the temple to mark the first day of the nine day long Navratri, a major festival in Hinduism
dedicated to Goddess
worship and celebrated across the world.
The devotees scrambled towards the door the moment it opened, resulting in the destruction of the barricades. Many people were injured when they lost their footing on the slope approaching the temple.
According to The Times of India
, local reports suggest that a bomb blast in nearby Mehrangarh created panic among the pilgrims resulting in the stampede
. However, the BBC News
reported that a collapsing wall may have also caused the stampede. Some eyewitnesses told CNN-IBN that a rumor about a bomb being planted in the temple caused panic among pilgrims.
Others said there was a scramble in the men's queue; some devotees slipped and soon there was a massive resultant stampede where a day of celebration turned into one of mourning.
An eyewitness also said that the path leading to the temple was very narrow with no emergency exit routes.
Indian Army
doctors were called to assist the local authorities in the relief operation. Bharatiya Janata Party
's Rajnath Singh
assured speedy relief to the victims of the tragedy.
Local authorities revealed that most of the dead were men as the queue for women was separate.
Chief Minister B C Khanduri and Governor
B L Joshi both expressed grief over the death of the pilgrims at the Chamunda Devi temple.
A Raj Bhavan
statement issued a condolence message saying Joshi conveyed his deepest sorrow to the bereaved families of the dead and said he would pray for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident.
Khanduri followed too in expressing grief over the accident. He also directed District Magistrates of all the 13 districts of his state to make special arrangements at religious places as they are expected to attract large crowds during the Navratra period.
Bodies lay braided together and as Malini Agarwal, Senior Superintendent of police said, "We could not pull them out. It was as if they were joined together." It took Agarwal and her team nearly 90 minutes to clear the 100-yard stretch. The toll rose through the day but Agarwal believes that they were able to rescue more people than those who died.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has ordered an enquiry on the incident and on DM Naresh Pal Gangwar and SSP Malini Agarwal. Both officeres have been withdrawn from their posts and are awaiting posting orders.
Malini Agarwal blames the Maharaja of Jodhpur for negligence on the part of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust which contributed greatly to the death toll. She states "The Jodhpur royal family’s insensitivity is out in the open. Soon after the stampede Mr. Gaj Singh and his queen went to worship at the temple. They have no sympathies with the public; otherwise they would have rushed to the hospital”
"There is not enough evidence to support that the administration is guilty. Keeping us on APO is just a trick by the CM to show the people of Jodhpur that she is looking into the incident. The tent that collapsed and the over-flowing of milk on the ramp, which caused the stampede is the fault of the Mehrangarh fort management and being a DM, if allowed to work fully, I could have taken them to court. But now it is obvious that the Maharaja of Jodhpur is more valued by the government than the people of Rajasthan and the officers serving the state" says Jodhpur collector and DM Naresh Pal Gangwar.
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in which 249 people were killed and more than 400 injured. The 15th-century temple is dedicated to the goddess Chamunda
Chamunda
Chamunda , also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas . She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga...
Devi
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
and is located within the premises of Mehrangarh Fort
Mehrangarh Fort
Mehrangarh Fort, located in Jodhpur city in Rajasthan state, is one of the largest forts in India.The fort is situated 400 feet above the city and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. Inside its boundaries there are several palaces known for their intricate carvings and expansive courtyards. A...
.
About 25,000 Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
pilgrims were visiting the temple to mark the first day of the nine day long Navratri, a major festival in Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
dedicated to Goddess
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
worship and celebrated across the world.
Cause
According to The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
, local reports suggest that a bomb blast in nearby Mehrangarh created panic among the pilgrims resulting in the stampede
Stampede
A stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals or a crowd of people in which the herd collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose....
. However, the BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
reported that a collapsing wall may have also caused the stampede. Some eyewitnesses told CNN-IBN that a rumor about a bomb being planted in the temple caused panic among pilgrims.
Others said there was a scramble in the men's queue; some devotees slipped and soon there was a massive resultant stampede where a day of celebration turned into one of mourning.
An eyewitness also said that the path leading to the temple was very narrow with no emergency exit routes.
Aftermath
Television footage showed frantic people trying to revive unconscious devotees by compressing their chests. Param Jyoti, IPS, who was during the time of the incident Assistant Surperintendent of Police Jodhpur city said that of those dead, 30 bodies were brought to Maharaja UmmedSingh Hospital (Now Mahatma Gandhi Hospital) and 10 were taken to Mathura Das Hospital. Later on, more than 400 injured devotees were admitted in seven hospitals across Jodhpur. According to reports, there was a shortage of oxygen in local hospitals where the victims were treated.Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
doctors were called to assist the local authorities in the relief operation. Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
's Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh is a prominent Indian politician and who has served the country in many capacities. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a Cabinet Minister in the NDA regime and became the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the single largest Opposition party in India...
assured speedy relief to the victims of the tragedy.
Local authorities revealed that most of the dead were men as the queue for women was separate.
Reactions
UttarakhandUttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
Chief Minister B C Khanduri and Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
B L Joshi both expressed grief over the death of the pilgrims at the Chamunda Devi temple.
A Raj Bhavan
Raj Bhavan (Rajasthan)
Raj Bhavan is the official residence of the Governor of Rajasthan. It is located in the capital city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The present governor of Rajasthan is Prabha Rau...
statement issued a condolence message saying Joshi conveyed his deepest sorrow to the bereaved families of the dead and said he would pray for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident.
Khanduri followed too in expressing grief over the accident. He also directed District Magistrates of all the 13 districts of his state to make special arrangements at religious places as they are expected to attract large crowds during the Navratra period.
Criticism
"The management of the temple and Mehrangarh fort had sealed all emergency exits. So there was no way my team could have evacuated the people from side entrances" says Malini Agarwal, SSP, Jodhpur City.Bodies lay braided together and as Malini Agarwal, Senior Superintendent of police said, "We could not pull them out. It was as if they were joined together." It took Agarwal and her team nearly 90 minutes to clear the 100-yard stretch. The toll rose through the day but Agarwal believes that they were able to rescue more people than those who died.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has ordered an enquiry on the incident and on DM Naresh Pal Gangwar and SSP Malini Agarwal. Both officeres have been withdrawn from their posts and are awaiting posting orders.
Malini Agarwal blames the Maharaja of Jodhpur for negligence on the part of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust which contributed greatly to the death toll. She states "The Jodhpur royal family’s insensitivity is out in the open. Soon after the stampede Mr. Gaj Singh and his queen went to worship at the temple. They have no sympathies with the public; otherwise they would have rushed to the hospital”
"There is not enough evidence to support that the administration is guilty. Keeping us on APO is just a trick by the CM to show the people of Jodhpur that she is looking into the incident. The tent that collapsed and the over-flowing of milk on the ramp, which caused the stampede is the fault of the Mehrangarh fort management and being a DM, if allowed to work fully, I could have taken them to court. But now it is obvious that the Maharaja of Jodhpur is more valued by the government than the people of Rajasthan and the officers serving the state" says Jodhpur collector and DM Naresh Pal Gangwar.
See also
- Chamunda Devi Temple stampede in the pictures http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/specials/522_chamunda_px/page4.shtml
- 2008 Naina Devi temple stampede2008 Naina Devi temple stampedeA human stampede at the Hindu temple of Naina Devi occurred on 3 August 2008 in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. 162 people died when they were crushed, trampled, or forced over the side of a ravine by the movement of a large panicking crowd. Witness accounts suggest that events were...
External links
- Dainik Bhaskar http://digital.bhaskar.com/dainikrajasthan/epapermain.aspx?queryed=1&eddate=10/2/2008