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Saturday 4 October 2014
32 dead in India stampede
PATNA- A stampede at a popular Hindu festival in
eastern India to celebrate the victory of good
over evil left 32 people dead on Friday, an official
said. Thousands of people were starting to leave
the grounds after celebrating the Dussehra
festival in the city of Patna when panic erupted,
possibly caused by rumours of an electrical fire.
“We have information that 32 people including
women and children died due to a stampede,”
Gupteshwar Pandey, additional director general
of police for Bihar state, told AFP.
“Dozens of people were seriously injured,” he
said.
The crowds were exiting the Gandhi Maidan
venue after watching giant effigies of Hindu
demon king Ravana set ablaze in a tradition for
Dussehra - a custom especially enjoyed by
families - when people rushed and fell. “Someone
screamed that a burning electrical wire (had) set
fire on the ground and, hearing that, almost
everyone jumped on each other to get out of the
venue as quickly as possible,” a witness who did
not give his name told the NDTV network.
“Because of that they all got trampled on and run
over. It was pure panic.” Dussehra, celebrated by
millions of Hindus mainly across the country’s
north, is marked with a holiday.
Patna district magistrate Kumar Verma put the
death toll at between 20 and 25, adding that all of
the injured have been rushed to the city’s
hospitals. “The information we have is that most
of the victims were women, five to six were
children and about 20 women,” he told reporters.
“Fifteen have been injured. Hospital staff are on
the job. I have full faith that all the injured will be
saved.”
Television footage showed ripped clothes and
discarded shoes just outside the venue, as an
angry crowd spoke of overcrowding and poor
lighting. Some in the crowd were seen protesting
by throwing shoes and plastic bottles at police,
screaming about a lack of security and an
evacuation plan at the venue. Distraught relatives
outside one of the hospitals were seen crying and
screaming, as beefed-up security stopped them
from entering the facility.
Ambulances and hospital staff meanwhile were
seen carrying some of the injured inside on
stretchers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his
condolences to the families of those killed, with
his government announcing 200,000 rupees
($3,240) as compensation.
“The stampede in Patna is deeply saddening. I
spoke to the Bihar CM (chief minister) about the
situation,” the premier tweeted.
Bihar is one of India’s most populated and
underdeveloped states with millions of people
living in poverty.
India has a long history of deadly stampedes at
religious festivals, where large numbers of people
crowd into congested areas. Safety regulations
are few, while inadequate policing can sometimes
cause panic.
In September, a stampede at a Hindu temple in
Madhya Pradesh state killed at least 10 people
and injured scores. Some 115 devotees were
crushed to death or drowned on a bridge near
another Hindu temple also in Madhya Pradesh in
October last year.
Some 102 Hindu devotees were killed in a
stampede in January 2011 in the southern state
of Kerala, while 224 pilgrims died in September
2008 as thousands of worshippers rushed to
reach a 15th-century hilltop temple at Jodhpur in
Rajasthan state.
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