Patna: A tragic stampede at a temple in Nalanda claimed the lives of at least eight devotees and left more than a dozen injured on Tuesday, officials said. All those who lost their lives in the incident were women.
The mishap occurred at the Sheetlaashtami Temple in Maghra village, located about five kilometres from Bihar Sharif. The temple had witnessed an unusually large turnout of devotees, as the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month is considered auspicious for offering prayers to Sheetla Mata.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as the crowd surged within the temple परिसर, leading to a sudden crush. Many people were knocked to the ground in the rush, resulting in injuries and fatalities.
A devotee, who had travelled from Patna, alleged lapses in crowd management. She said the situation quickly spiralled out of control due to the overwhelming number of visitors and the absence of adequate administrative arrangements at the site.
Disturbing visuals from the location showed several devotees lying unconscious, while others attempted to revive them. In some instances, bystanders were seen performing CPR and using water to bring victims back to consciousness before emergency services arrived.
Authorities rushed ambulances to the scene and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment. Officials are expected to launch an inquiry into the incident to determine the cause and assess whether safety protocols were followed.
The tragedy has once again highlighted concerns over crowd control measures at religious gatherings, especially during peak festival days when large numbers of devotees assemble at temples across the country.
