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13 dead as roof of stepwell at Indore temple collapses
At least 13 people were killed and 17 injured after the roof of the stepwell caved in at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore on Thursday
Bhopal: At least 13 people were killed and 17 injured after the roof of the stepwell caved in at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore on Thursday.
A rescue operation led by the Madhya Pradesh police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Emergency and Response Force (SDERF) and district administration is still underway, and two children are still feared trapped.
Indore police commissioner Makrand Deouskar said that at around 11.30 am, more than 30 people were at the temple, which is in the Patel Nagar area of Indore, for special prayers on the occasion of Ram Navami.
“There was an old stepwell in the temple which was covered by locals three years ago, using stone slabs. On Thursday morning, locals had come to the temple for a havan. Some people were sitting on the slabs of the stepwell, and when they stood up for the aarti, the roof caved in,” said Ilayaraja T, district collector, Indore.
At least 15 people were rescued immediately and were pulled up with the help of ropes, but several drowned and died of suffocation, Ilayaraja said. The stepwell leads to a pool of water nine feet deep, and full of mud which is being pumped out.
The deceased include 10 women, including an 84-year-old. They mainly belong to business class families reside in Sneha Nagar and Patel Nagar.
Mahesh Motwani, father in-law of the deceased Manisha Motwani said, “The temple was very congested and there was no proper sitting arrangement so they covered the stepwell which led to this mishap.”
Rajnikant Patel, a nephew of the deceased Ganga Patel, 60, said, “The roof was constructed without any proper support and there were more than 30 people on the roof. It was caved in at one go so all the people present on the roof fell down. The temple administration and trustees are responsible for the deaths.”
It is a small 100-year-old temple but people have faith in it. Every year, special pooja is organised on Ram Navami. The temple is being taken care of by Shri Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Mandir Trust. The trust is renovating the temple. In 2022, Indore Municipal corporation had served a notice of construction against the rule and also asked to open the stepwell but the trustees didn’t pay any attention, said Pushya Mitra Bhargava, mayor, Indore.
During the rescue operation, about 15 people were brought out with the help of a ladder and ropes as they were in a conscious state but others were pulled out by SDERF and NDRF personnel.
The divers searched the bodies inside the water first. Later by using water pumps, municipal corporation officials pumped out water. Now, the rescue operation is being taken place in muddy water and debris of the roof. The five people on the rescue team are removing mud with bare hands and searching for people in debris, said Bhargava, mayor.
The injured who were pulled out were rushed to the Maharaja Yashwantrao hospital, as well as the Apple private hospital. While 11 people were dead when they reached hospital, two persons succumbed to their injuries. Indore divisional commissioner Pawan Sharma said, “Initially the doctors said the devotees died of suffocation and drowning but the real reason will be known after the postmortem report.”
An eyewitness Mira Singh said, “We were standing for aarti when the roof collapsed suddenly. A few locals used rope to pull out the injured. If the rescue operation had been delayed, more people would have died.”
In the hours after the incident, senior BJP leaders including Pushyamitra Bhargava reached the spot, and faced anger from the locals as they were complaining against illegal construction by the trustees.
Bhargava however said, “Rescue operations started swiftly after the incident took place at 11.30 am.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the incident and tweeted, “Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM @ChouhanShivraj Ji and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families.”
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “A magisterial inquiry has been ordered. The families of the deceased are being given assistance of ₹4 lakh each from the government and ₹50,000 will be given to the injured. The government will bear all the medical expenses of injured.”
State Congress president Kamal Nath said, “Several Congress leaders and workers are present at the spot and provided all possible help in this hour of crisis. I also demand a fair probe into the matter to punish the guilty.
