Twelve people lost their lives and over a dozen others were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Saturday. This is the first such tragedy at the shrine, located atop the Trikuta hills about 50 km from here that attracts lakhs of people every year. It was triggered by a heavy rush of devotees at around 2.30 am near gate number three outside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.
Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said preliminary information from the scene suggests there was a minor altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation.
Hundreds of people have died in stampedes at temples and other Hindu religious gatherings over the years in India. Here is a list of some of such major tragedies that have taken place in the country after 2000:
August 27, 2003: 39 people were killed and around 140 injured in a stampede during the holy bath at the Kumbh Mela in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.
January 25, 2005: More than 340 devotees were trampled to death and hundreds injured during an annual pilgrimage at Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra’s Satara district. The accident occurred when some people fell down on the steps made slippery by devotees breaking coconuts.
August 3, 2008: 162 dead, 47 injured in stampede triggered by rumours of rockslides at Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
September 30, 2008: Nearly 250 devotees killed and over 60 injured in stampede triggered by rumours of bomb going off at Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur city.
March 4, 2010: About 63 people were killed in a stampede at Ram Janki Temple of Kripalu Maharaj in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district as people gathered to collect free clothes and food from the self-styled godman.
November 8, 2011: At least 20 people were killed in stampede in Haridwar at Har-ki-Pauri ghat on banks of the Ganga river.
November 19, 2012: Around 20 people were killed and many others injured as a makeshift bridge caved in, triggering a stampede during Chhath Puja at Adalat Ghat on the bank of river Ganga in Patna.
October 13, 2013: 115 people were killed and over 100 injured in a stampede during Navratri festivities near Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district. The stampede was triggered by rumours that a river bridge the devotees were crossing was about to collapse.
October 3, 2014: Thirty-two people were killed and 26 others injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, shortly after the Dussehra celebrations ended.
July 14, 2015: Twenty-seven pilgrims died and 20 others were injured in a stampede at a major bathing spot on the banks of the Godavari river where a huge crowd of devotees had gathered on the opening day of ‘Pushkaram’ festival in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh.
January 1, 2022: At least 12 people died and over a dozen were injured in a stampede at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir triggered by a heavy rush of devotees.
(with inputs from PTI)
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