Odisha: Devotee deaths at Rath Yatra spark row, Oppn blames admin
Bhubaneswar, July 16 (IANS) After the main opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) also lashed out at the state government over the death of a devotee in an alleged stampede during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri, which commenced on Thursday.
OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das expressed deep grief over the death of the devotee and appealed to the Odisha Government to remain vigilant and ensure proper crowd management so that such incidents do not recur.
He said that during Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra, near Marichikote Square on the Bada Danda (Grand Road), devotee Anil Das allegedly experienced suffocation due to the excessive crowd.
Around 100 feet away from the police cordon, the devotee, a native of Keonjhar district, collapsed and was immediately rescued and shifted to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Das said such recurring incidents during the Rath Yatra are a matter of serious concern and require a thorough review. Calling the incident inexcusable, he alleged that one devotee died while over 150 have been undergoing treatment for crowd‑related suffocation and other ailments.
Referring to last year’s stampede in Puri during the Rath Yatra festival that took three lives, the OPCC president reiterated his criticism, alleging that the issuance of an excessive number of cordon passes and the permission granted to RSS volunteers to enter the cordoned area were among the reasons behind the alleged mismanagement.
He slammed the state government for performing the Pahandi Bije ritual without placing the traditional Tahia, a large, fragrant floral crown worn by the deities, on Lord Jagannath, saying this had deeply hurt the sentiments of the Odia community.
Meanwhile, the state government denied the allegations of a stampede during the Rath Yatra on Thursday, while confirming the death of two devotees in Puri.
As per the state government, during the festival, seven persons felt unwell and were immediately evacuated by deployed personnel and shifted to a hospital without delay.
Among them, one male devotee aged above 60 years unfortunately succumbed, reportedly due to suffocation.
Similarly, in a separate and unrelated incident, a male devotee aged above 35 years suffered a cardiac arrest and, despite immediate medical intervention, unfortunately passed away.
–IANS
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