Daijiworld Media Network – Puri
Puri, Jul 17: Two devotees lost their lives and more than 150 others were injured following a crowd surge during the annual Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri on Thursday, shortly before the ceremonial pulling of the chariots.
The deceased were identified as Anil Das and Surya Prakash Rao. The incident occurred near Marichikot Chhak on the Bada Danda (Grand Road), around 150 metres from the chariots.
According to eyewitnesses, Anil Das collapsed amid the swelling crowd and reportedly began suffocating. Volunteers rushed him to a hospital in an ambulance.
As devotees attempted to clear the route for the ambulance, another sudden rush of people occurred, causing Surya Prakash Rao to fall to the ground. He was also taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.
"Security personnel asked us to clear the road for the ambulance. A stampede-like situation followed, leading to another devotee's death," an eyewitness said.
Sources said over 150 devotees sustained injuries after slipping and falling on the rain-soaked Bada Danda. Puri received 233.3 mm of rainfall over the past 48 hours, making the road slippery, although the heavy downpour did not deter thousands of devotees from participating in the festival.
Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had directed the Health Minister to visit the hospital and monitor the situation.
Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the incident and urged the government to strengthen crowd management and ensure the safety of devotees. A delegation of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) also visited the injured at the hospital.
However, the Odisha government denied reports of a stampede, maintaining that there was no systemic failure in crowd management.
In an official statement, the government said one devotee died due to cardiac arrest, while the exact cause of the other death was yet to be determined. It added that seven devotees who fell ill during the festival were promptly evacuated to hospital, and several others experienced fatigue, dehydration, suffocation and rain-related health issues amid the massive gathering and continuous rainfall.
The incident comes a year after three people lost their lives in a stampede during the Rath Yatra in Puri.