At least three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and 10 others sustained injuries during a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Bihar’s Gopalganj district on Monday night.
The deceased individuals have been identified as Ayush Kumar, the son of Dilip Ram from Sanah Mathia village under Manjha police station, Urmila Devi, aged 55, from Kuchaikot, and Shanti Devi from the town police station area.
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According to residents, the incident took place at around 9 pm at the pandal of Raja Puja Dal Samiti located along the station road under the jurisdiction of the town police station. The pandal was attracting a significant crowd, with devotees queuing up to worship the deity, resulting in a large gathering, as reported by the Indian Express.
The incident took place when the young boy lost his balance and fell. In a valiant effort to save him, two women behind him leaned in but, regrettably, all three fell. A stampede quickly ensued due to the immense crowd and limited exit routes. The boy lost his life on the spot, while the two women, experiencing breathlessness, succumbed to injuries on their way to Sadar Hospital in Gopalganj. Meanwhile, three injured individuals have been transferred to Gorakhpur hospitals, with seven others currently receiving medical treatment at Gopalganj hospital.
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Residents have pointed to inadequate crowd management as the primary cause of the stampede. Govind Kumar, a witness, said, “The location where the stampede occurred had a narrow stretch of the station road, approximately 20 feet wide. The pandal was surrounded by approximately 25,000 people. If the lock of an adjacent school had not been opened to facilitate the passage of the crowd, the situation could have been even more dire. Gopalganj town pandals attracted an estimated crowd of 1.5 lakh on Monday evening.”
Another eyewitness, Sonu Kumar, commented that better crowd control measures could have been put in place, as local authorities were well aware of the annual heavy turnout at the pandal.
Gopalganj District Magistrate Nawal Kishore Choudhary provided a statement to the media and said, “The incident occurred due to a sudden surge in the crowd. There was a substantial deployment of forces in and around the pandal. Policemen and officials from the local administration played a vital role in saving numerous lives.”