Dr Jitendra visits victims, suggests doable measures
LG forms 3- Member panel to submit report on incident
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Jan 1: Alleged mismanagement during the New Year rush at the world famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Trikuta Hills at Katra in Reasi district led to stampede that left 12 pilgrims dead and 16 injured in the early hours of today.
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The first of its kind incident of stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine occurred around 2.15 A.M near Gate number 3, outside the sanctum sanctorum when there was a purported minor altercation among some pilgrims and cops allegedly resorted to cane charging thus triggering the unwanted situation which went out of control within seconds.
According to some eyewitnesses, there was heavy rush of devotees beyond the permitted level with flagrant violation of COVID- norms and apparent mismanagement on part of the administration led to the unwanted situation.
“It was a free-for-all-like situation. Police personnel on duty had virtually surrendered to the heavy rush and there was no check on the number of pilgrims. Nothing but mismanagement was the cause for this tragic accident,” said most of the pilgrims who were witness to the mishap.
In the stampede, two women among 12 pilgrims died and 16 others were injured, some of them seriously. Seven of the injured were still admitted at Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspecialty Hospital and two of them were on ventilators when the last reports came in.
Besides announcing ex-gratia relief for the victims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has constituted a high level committee to look into the today’s incident of stampede. The committee will be headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Shaleen Kabra with ADGP Jammu Mukesh Singh and Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Ragav Langar as the members.
The committee shall ascertain the reason behind the tragic incident and submit its report to the Government within a week’s time.
“Spoke to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. Briefed him about the incident. Hon’ble Prime Minister has assured all the help. Ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to stampede and Rs 2 lakh to injured. Shrine Board will bear the cost of treatment of injured,” tweeted the Lt Governor, who was personally monitoring the situation since 3 AM after Chief Executive Officer of the Shrine Board, Ramesh Kumar telephonically apprised him of the incident.
According to an official spokesperson, the incident was triggered by a heavy rush of devotees who came to pay their obeisance to mark the beginning of the New Year. An hour after the incident, pilgrims were again allowed at the site and the yatra was resumed.
“Preliminary information from the scene suggests there was a minor altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation,” said Director General of J&K Police, Dilbag Singh, adding that rescue and evacuation operations were immediately launched by the Shrine Board authorities, District administration and Police.
Bodies of the deceased were shifted to CHC Katra for further legal formalities while the injured pilgrims were provided first aid at Medical Unit Bhawan and subsequently shifted to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Super Specialty Hospital Kakryal for specialized treatment.
Some of the injured were discharge after first aid while condition of four of them was stated to be critical.
Among the deceased, seven are from Uttar Pradesh, three from Delhi and one each from Haryana and J&K. Most of the deaths have taken place due to suffocation.
The deceased were identified as Dheeraj Kumar (26), son of Tarlok Kumar, resident of Nowshera, Rajouri; Shweta Singh (35), wife of Vikrant Singh of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh; Viney Kumar (24), son of Mahesh Chander of Bhaderpur, Delhi; Sonu Pandey (24), son of Narinder Pandey of Bhaderpur, Delhi; Mamta (38), wife of Surinder, resident of Beeri Jharjar, Haryana; Dharmveer Singh (35), resident of Salapur, Saharnpur (UP); Vaneet Kumar (38), son of Vhirampal Singh of Saharnpur (UP); Arun Pratap Singh (30), son of Sat Parkash Singh of Gorkhpur(UP); Monu Sharma (32) of Uttar Pradesh; Narinder Kumar Keshav (4), son of Subabu of Kanpur (UP); Mahendra Gaur (26), son of Shiv Kishan of Kanpur (UP) and Akash Kumar(28), son of Kailash, resident of Murari, Delhi.
The injured were identified as Rishikesh (23) of Mumbai, Sumit (29) of Pathankot, Punjab, Vikas Tiwari (34) of Mumbai, Ayush (25) of Channi, Jammu, Kapil (25) of Delhi, Nitin Garg (30) of Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan, Ratnesh Pandey (25) of Noida, Sector 62 (UP), Kiran (18) of Haryana, Ashish Kumar Jaiswal (25) Prayag Raj (UP), Bhawari Lal Patidar ( 47) of Mandsur (MP), Sahil Kumar (22) of R S Pura Jammu, Shivani (25) of Delhi, Adhaya Mahajan (16) of Channi Himmat Jammu, Prashant Hada (30) of Jaipur, Rajasthan, Sarita (42) of Delhi and Mukesh Kumar (34) of Delhi.
Among these, Kapil, Nitin, Kiran and Ashish Kumar were discharged after the first aid while five others were discharged later on. Seven of the injured are still undergoing treatment and condition of four of them was stated to be critical.
The Shrine Board and District Administration have also established helplines for information of the devotees. Of the 12 deceased pilgrims, bodies of the two have been shifted by Air and nine by road to their native destinations. The lone left-out body will be shifted tomorrow morning by Air from GMC Jammu.
Condolences poured in from all quarters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and also rushed Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh to take stock of the situation.
DGP Dilbag Singh, who accompanied the Minister of State in the PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, during the visit to the shrine after the stampede, told reporters that the incident took place due to confusion or “probably somebody at the site acted funny which could have led to some altercation”.
“All these things are being looked into. That area is a little narrow and people ran helter-skelter without knowing the reason. Most of the deaths have taken place due to suffocation after being run over by each other and most of the injuries are also due to the same reason,” he said.
Eyewitnesses said that many people were resting on the floor, instead of heading back and it caused more rush at the Bhawan. The area was overcrowded and some people who were sleeping on the floor got crushed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Central Government was in constant touch with the J&K administration to assist the affected people. Speaking at a programme to release funds under the PM-KISAN scheme, Modi said he was “extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon”.
The J&K administration has announced a relief of Rs 10 lakh to the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to the injured which will be paid by the Shrine Board.
In a series of tweets, the office of the Lieutenant Governor expressed pain at the loss of lives and gave details of whom Sinha had briefed after the stampede which included the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The PMO tweeted that “an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan while the injured would be given Rs 50,000”.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who visited the injured at Narayana Hospital and the spot where stampede took place, said that innovative measures are required to deal with the new trend of youngsters eager to visit Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on the first day of the New Year. He suggested widening the narrow passage at Gate number 3, relocating cloak room, online Darshan facility, fixing upper limit for the pilgrims etc.
“Traditionally, the pilgrims used to come on the festival days like Navratras, Dussehra and Deepawali. This is a new trend and we have to take measures accordingly,” he said.
President Ram Nath Kovind said he was very distressed to know about the stampede and offered condolences to the bereaved families. “I wish speedy recovery to those injured,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he was deeply pained by the tragic accident. “Deeply pained by the tragic accident at Mata Vaishno Devi temple. In this regard, I have spoken to Lieutenant Governor of J&K Shri Manoj Sinha. The administration is working continuously to provide treatment to the injured. I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this accident,” Shah tweeted.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: “The stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi temple is tragic. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased.”
Meanwhile, some locals and pilgrims held a protest demonstration at Katra alleging that the Shrine Board was responsible for the mismanagement that led to the mishap. They alleged that the Shrine Board was aware about the possible rush on the New Year eve but no arrangements were done for the same.
Pertinent to mention that the National Green Tribunal has capped the normal capacity of the Yatra per day to 50,000. As per the Shrine Board, keeping in view the COVID-19 pandemic, 35000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed for Yatra on December 31, 2021 and for January 1, 2022.
However, reports said that the number of pilgrims near Bhawan had crossed more than one lakh when the stampede took place.
LG to review situation today with Shrine Board
In the wake of stampede incident, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha shall review the situation with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, tomorrow.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the review meeting shall be held tomorrow at 12 noon during which some important decisions are likely to be taken in view of the today’s incident of stampede in which 12 pilgrims died and 16 others were injured.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also Chairman of the Shrine Board, is learnt to have taken serious notice of alleged mismanagement of the pilgrimage, which apparently led to the stampede.
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