As many as seven women were killed on Monday morning after a stampede broke out a temple in Lakhisarai district of Bihar. According to authorities, overcrowding led to the tragedy as thousands of devotees gathered at the Ashok Dham, one of the oldest Shiva temples in Bihar.
Explaining the reason behind the stampede, Lakhisarai DM Shailendra Kumar said, “The incident took place at around 6:40 am when some youngsters tried to push through breaking the barricades.” Witnesses however countered this narrative and said the stampede occurred due to poor crowd management.
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What led to Bihar temple stampede
According to the Lakhisarai district magistrate, a massive crowd had gathered at the temple, with the devotees' queue reaching the Ashok Dham halt, where local trains pause.
{{/usCountry}}According to the Lakhisarai district magistrate, a massive crowd had gathered at the temple, with the devotees' queue reaching the Ashok Dham halt, where local trains pause.
{{/usCountry}}"Two trains had stopped at the halt. Suddenly, an electric pole fell there. The pole was located on the right side of the men's queue. When the pole collapsed, a rumour spread that a live wire had fallen on people, but it was a cable wire."
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“This led to pressure on the women's queue on the left side. So, women fell on top of each other,” he said.
Devotees fell sick due to extreme humidity and suffocation
The injured people were admitted to local medical facilities for treatment. The district administration and police personnel remained on-site to manage the crowd and prevent any more untoward incidents.
Giving an update on the injured, Kumar said, “Those said to be injured had actually fallen sick due to extreme humidity and suffocation caused by overcrowded surroundings. They were being treated at the hospital and their condition is out of danger."
Why crowd gathered in Bihar's Ashok Dham
The Indramaneshwar Temple in Ashok Dham saw the crowd swelling uncontrollably as thousands gathered to offer prayers on the occasion of the third somwar (Monday) of the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar. As many as 50 000 people had reached Lakhisarai for the pilgrimage on the third Monday.
“The crowd had started pouring in at the temple premises from Sunday night," an unidentified police official told Hindustan Times. “The queue stretched for over six kilometres. It took an average four hours of wait for a pilgrim to get inside the temple."
According to a police official present at the site, the crowd grew restless after some time and many people began to jostle, leading to a stampede-like situation.
When the stampede occurred, many devotees were crushed under each other. Locals and devotees started trying to pull out the trapped people.
The situation was, however, soon brought under control, the police official said.