Haridwar yagya stampede 20 dead

On Tuesday Haridwar “yagya”   Devotion quickly turned to devastation  as at least 20 people were killed in a stampede that occurred when massive crowds had gathered near the Ganges for a religious meet in this temple town.

The parivar was celebrating the birth centenary of its founder, Sriram Sharma Acharya, as the Gayatri Mahakumbh. “The celebrations have been called off and ‘Shanti Yagya' is being performed for the departed souls,” head of the institution Pranav Pandya said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was present when the stampede occurred.

About 50,000 people were participating in the “yagya” and the stampede seems to have been triggered by suffocation due to excessive smoke from over 1,000 havan kunds, Hariram, a participant from Gujarat, said.

Witnesses said the tragedy occurred when an elderly woman slipped while walking through a barricaded route close to where 1,551 'yagyas' - or fire rituals - were on.

"Once the woman fell, there was commotion. The crowds, however, kept pushing ahead. In no time, people began to fall over one another, crushing many," an activist for Gayatri Parivar, the organisers, told IANS in Haridwar, about 50 km from the state capital Dehradun.

The activist said that while 16 people - 14 women and two men - were killed instantly, four others succumbed to their injuries late in the evening. Most of the victims were elderly and suffocated to death. Around 40 others

Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri, who rushed to the spot, announced an ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh for the kin of the dead and free treatment to the injured.