Jodhpur stampede jolts Indrakeeladri pilgrims

VIJAYAWADA: Tuesday’s stampede at Chamundeswari temple in Jodhpur in Rajastan, in which about 140 pilgrims died, is giving creeps to devotees planning a visit to the Kanaka Durga temple here during the Dasara festival which commenced today.


There was a stampede on the Indrakeeladri ghat road in which about half-a-dozen Bhavani Deekshits died on January 3 this year. The government and the temple authorities then decided to widen the ghat road.

Pilgrims are worried about their safety as boulders continue to roll down the slopes of the hill even after the near-completion of the work as claimed by the authorities. If there is a rain during Dasara celebrations, it would aggravate the situation and may lead to stampede, it is feared.

Initially, officials decided to go in for rock bolting to prevent the falling of loose boulders on the ghat road where thousands of people wait in queue for darsan. But it was alleged that while the work was mid way, the officials entrusted the work to another contractor to fix wire mesh on the hill slope to avert rolling down of boulders.

Engineering officials claimed that they abandoned rock-bolting of the boulders as the sandwich rock was not in a position to withstand the load.

Expressing doubts over the safety of the devotees on the ghat road, Sub- Collector Gowrav Uppal, at a recent coordination meeting here, insisted that the temple authorities give an assurance on safety in writing.

Temple officials shifted the queue railing on the hill side to the other edge of the ghat road keeping in view the possibility of falling of boulders.

Yet people fears for safety in case of rain during the Navaratri celebrations.

If a boulder falls, it may lead to stampede on the ghat road.

But temple officials, including executive officer T Chandrakumar and the superintending engineer, discount such fears. They claim that the wire mesh fixed on the hill slope are strong enough to withstand heavy beating and can stop rolling boulders of even 20 tonnes of weight.

Following the stampede in January, commissioner of police KV Rajendranath Reddy suggested one-way traffic on the ghat road and asked the temple authorities to set up a 2-kmlong queue shed from Vinayaka temple to allow devotees to enter the temple via the ghat road. After darsan, the devotees will have to return, climbing down the steps but not on the ghat road.

pvkrishnarao@epmltd.com