12 dead, 20 injured in stampede at J&K's Vaishno Devi shrine on New Year's Day

Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir
Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir. Photo: www.maavaishnodevi.org/

Jammu: Twelve people lost their lives and 16 others were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours during a heavy rush of devotees on New Year.

This is the first such tragedy at the revered shrine located atop the Trikuta hills - about 50 km from here - that attracts lakhs of people every year.

The incident occurred between 2.30 AM and 2.45 AM on Saturday near a relatively narrow passage at gate number 3 outside the sanctum sanctorum of the hilltop shrine where devotees usually arrive round the clock after trekking from the Katra base camp, a distance of nearly 13 km.

A high-level inquiry panel headed by Principal Secretary (Home) Shaleen Kabra, with Divisional Commissioner Jammu Rajiv Langar and Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh as its members, has been set up by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha and asked to submit a report within a week.

Condolences poured in from all quarters and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to LG Sinha. President Ram Nath Kovind and a number of other leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, union ministers and chief ministers expressed grief over the loss of lives.

According to eyewitness accounts, the number of devotees was allegedly beyond the permitted level with flagrant violation of COVID-19 norms, and some of the survivors accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of "mismanagement".

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, however, denied the charges saying all necessary arrangements were made in view of the expected rush.

INDIA-ACCIDENT-RELIGION
Relatives of a victim who died in a stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine weep outside a mortuary in Katra on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Most of the deaths have taken place due to suffocation, police said, adding among the deceased seven are from Uttar Pradesh, three from Delhi and one each from Haryana and J-K.

Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told reporters that the incident took place due to confusion or "probably due 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 and most of the injuries are also due to the same reason," he said.

Singh had told PTI that preliminary information from the scene suggests there was a minor altercation among some boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede.

"Police and officials of the civil administration were quick to respond, and the order within the crowd was immediately restored, but by that time, the damage had been done," said the DGP, who accompanied the Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, during the visit to the shrine after the stampede.

Prem Singh, from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, said there was a "complete mess" as neither was the number of pilgrims restricted nor were COVID-19 guidelines enforced.

"It was a free-for-all-like situation. Many people were without mandatory face masks," he said, claiming that police personnel on duty at the checking point surrendered to the heavy rush and were warning people about the possibility of such an accident.

"Nothing but mismanagement was the cause for this tragic accident. They were aware about the possible rush but allowed the people in unhindered," a pilgrim from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh said while waiting outside a mortuary to identify a body.

Many people were resting on the floor, instead of heading back, and this led to overcrowding and chaos at the site, he said.

Senior officials present at the scene said 12 people died in the stampede and their bodies were taken to a hospital in the Katra base camp.

The deceased were identified as Arun Pratab Singh (30), Dharam Veer Singh (35), Vineet Kumar (38), Shewata Singh (35), Mohinder Gour (26), Narinder Kashap (40) and Monu Sharma (32) of Uttar Pradesh, Vinay Kumar (24), Sonu Panday (24) and Akash Kumar (29) of Delhi, Mamta (38) of Haryana and Desraj Kumar (26) of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.

Sixteen injured were admitted to the Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, and the condition of two of them was stated to be critical. Six were later discharged after first-aid, they added.

Rani Devi of Bihar's Muzaffarpur said they were fortunate to escape death.

"I saw many people lying on the floor and was heartbroken," she said, blaming the tragedy on the "uncontrolled" crowd of pilgrims.

Another man, who lost his friend Arun Pratab Singh (30), said they had come from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Aditya Sharma, a pilgrim, said some people who were sleeping on the floor got crushed in the melee.

An hour after the incident, pilgrims were again allowed at the site, the officials said, adding the yatra was not disrupted.

Following the incident, many pilgrims were seen leaving Katra without visiting the shrine.

"We are from Pathankot. We returned from the bhawan without 'darshan' due to the stampede," said Rekha, who was accompanied by five other family members, including three children.

Prime Minister Modi said that the central government is in constant touch with the J-K administration to assist the affected people.

The JK 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.

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. The injured would be given Rs 50,000: PM @narendramodi".

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said innovative measures are required to deal with the new trend of youngsters eager to visit the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on the first day of the new year.

The minister also visited the injured devotees undergoing treatment at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital at Kakriyal.

"Traditionally, the pilgrims used to come on the festival days like Navratras, Dussehra and Deepavali. This is a new trend and we have to take measures accordingly (of youngsters visiting on New Year)," he said.

Senior BJP leader and former legislator Devender Singh Rana, who interacted with the pilgrims here, said it is the first such incident at the shrine.

"It is a tragic incident and a sad moment for all of us. The whole administration is working to ensure the bodies are returned to their families and those injured are given adequate treatment," he said.

"This is no time for allegations or counter-allegations. It is a tragedy that has happened and nobody should play politics over it," he added.

Political parties in Kashmir, including the National Conference and the People's Conference, expressed grief over the incident.

The PDP said such "mismanagement" has been unheard of in recent times.

While most of the devotees undertake the arduous trek to the shrine, some reach there by helicopter service.

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