11 killed, 50 injured in stampede at Jharkhand temple

At least 11 people died and 50 others were injured in a stampede at a temple in Jharkhand.

The incident took place near a Durga temple at Belabagan More on Deogarh-Jassidih, about 350 kilometres from Ranchi, civil surgeon Diwakar Kamath told PTI.

The incident occurred around 5am when the devotees tried to break the queue and ran towards the temple.

The injured are being treated at a nearby hospital.

Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das expressed grief. The chief minister also announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to injured.

Home secretary NN Pandey, additional director general of police SN Pradhan and other officials have been supervising the rescue operation and treatment of more than 30 persons, the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief at the loss of lives.

"Pained at loss of lives due to the stampede in Jharkhand. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief," the PM tweeted. "I pray that the injured recover quickly. I spoke to CM Raghubar Das ji on the incident," he said.

Das apprised Modi of the incident over phone, an official statement said in Ranchi.

During Shravan month of the Hindu calendar, more than 30 lakh people offer prayers at the Baidyanath Temple. On Mondays, the number goes up substantially and around two lakh people offer prayers.

Deadly stampedes are fairly common during religious festivals in India, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

On July 19, 2015, at least two women died of suffocation and 10 others were injured in overcrowding at the venue of the annual car festival -- Rath Yatra -- in Puri in Odisha. The sudden surge in the crowd occurred when the chariots of the deities, Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra were pulled  between the Market and Balagandi Chhaks areas.

On July 14, 2015, at least 29 people were killed and over 60 injured  in a stampede in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, during the mahapushkaram, a Hindu religious bathing festival on the Godavari river bank.

In October 2014, at least 33 people were killed in a stampede outside Patna`s Gandhi Maidan, where hundreds of thousands of people had gathered to celebrate Dussehra. -HT