New Delhi. More than 400 people have been injured in a stampede during the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri. Some police personnel have also been injured in the incident. Earlier, many people had lost their lives due to a stampede during a satsang in Hathras, UP.

Such stampede incidents in religious events are not new. In recent times, such a situation has arisen many times in which many people have lost their lives. In 2022 also, there was a stampede due to the huge crowd of devotees at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple, in which 12 devotees lost their lives. In 2008, 250 people died due to a stampede caused by a bomb rumor at the Chamunda temple in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Incidents keep happening continuously

In another incident, a slab on an old stepwell collapsed during a havan ceremony being held at a temple on the occasion of Ramnavami in Indore, killing 36 people. Such incidents have been occurring for decades. In 2003, 39 people died in a stampede at the Kumbh Mela in Maharashtra's Nasik district. In 2005, more than 340 people died due to being crushed in a stampede at the Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra's Satara district.

In 2008, 162 people died in a stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh due to a rumour. In 2015, 27 pilgrims lost their lives due to a stampede at the ghat on the banks of the Godavari river in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. In 2011, 20 devotees lost their lives due to a stampede at the Har Ki Pauri Ghat in Haridwar.

In 2010, 63 people died in a stampede at Kripalu Maharaj's Ram Janaki temple in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, 32 people died in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The occurrence of such incidents in large numbers shows that proper and concrete steps need to be taken to control the crowd in religious events.