‘Crowd mismanagement’: Report on Goa temple stampede that killed 6 submitted

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant’s office said the state government was currently examining the findings of the four-member fact finding committee

PANAJI: A four-member fact finding team into the stampede that killed six people at a temple during an annual festival in Shirgaon village of North Goa has blamed multiple factors including crowd mismanagement, a rush of devotees and a scuffle among the devotees for the stampede, people familiar with the matter said.

North Goa: A stampede broke out at a village during a temple festival in North Goa district on May 3 (PTI File Photo)

In a statement, the Chief Minister’s Office said the government was “examining its findings.”

“The fact-finding committee constituted to conduct an inquiry into the unfortunate incident at the Shirgao Jatra has submitted its report. The government is currently examining the findings. A formal statement will be made by the chief minister upon completion of the review,” a CMO statement read.

Six people died and 70 others sustained injuries in the stampede near the Sree Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao when thousands of devotees thronged the road leading to the temple for “jatra”, an annual pilgrimage festival, on May 3.

The people cited above said the committee flagged “the need for a real-time crowd monitoring system, enhanced coordination among district administration, police and temple committee and proper entry-exit routes for evacuation in case of a contingency.

An official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the team concluded that the stampede was a result of the Dhonds (devotees of goddess Lairai) forming multiple queues, including some who tried to break the queue along a narrow stretch of road leading to the temple towards the homkund (fire pit).

“Due to the pushing and shoving, one woman tripped. Since the topography of the road is such that it has a steep incline, several others fell which led to the stampede,” the official said.