At least three people lost their lives and several others were injured in a stampede that took place early Sunday morning at Saradhabali near the Gundicha Temple in Puri.
According to officials at the Puri district headquarters hospital, the deceased have been identified as 80-year-old Premakanta Mohanty, 36-year-old Basanti Sahoo, and 42-year-old Prabhati Das.
The incident occurred between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. when a large number of devotees had gathered to catch a glimpse of the deities on their chariots.
According to PTI, the chariots had reached Saradhabali from the Jagannath Temple on Saturday, a day after the annual Rath Yatra.
Puri District Collector Siddharth S. Swain stated that the injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, with six reported to be in critical condition. The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty and Pravati Das from Balipatna. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem, and an official investigation is underway.
According to eyewitness accounts cited by The Times of India, the situation turned chaotic when two trucks carrying wooden logs attempted to enter the densely packed congregation site. The presence of scattered palm-log ladders and insufficient police deployment reportedly made the area hazardous for the crowd.
“The narrow congregation site, combined with limited police presence and scattered palm-log ladders near the chariots, created hazardous conditions for devotees,” said Chinmay Patra, an eyewitness.
Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan expressed grief over the loss of lives and announced a high-level inquiry. “The tragedy involving three deaths has deeply saddened us. We will conduct a thorough investigation, and appropriate action will be taken against those whose negligence led to this unfortunate incident,” he said.
The incident has once again raised serious concerns about crowd control and safety measures during major religious events in the country.
