Puri (Odisha) [India], June 29 (HBTV): At least three people are feared dead and several others injured in a stampede that occurred during the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha, on Sunday morning near the Gundicha Temple.

According to local media reports, the incident took place amid a large gathering of devotees, with visuals from the postmortem centre in Puri showing grieving families gathered outside.

A man who lost his wife in the incident said, ‘When this incident happened, no one responded — neither the fire officials, nor the rescue team, nor the hospital team. This is a pathetic incident that cannot be expressed...’

Swadhin Kumar Panda, a resident of Puri, criticised the crowd management efforts. ‘I was there near the temple till 2–3 am last night, but the management was not good. A new way was made for VIPs, and common people were asked to exit from a distance. People started exiting from the entrance itself, which increased the crowd. The traffic system was also not good, as many vehicles with unauthorised passes came near the temple. The administration did not control the crowd properly. The biggest problem was the exit gate. Many people died on the day of the Rath Yatra too, but the government and administration did not disclose it and said that there were no casualties. Today, three people have died — two women, one man. The Odisha administration is responsible for this. There was no police, administration there at night...,’ he alleged.

On the third day of the Rath Yatra, devotees from across the world had gathered in large numbers to witness and participate in the iconic procession.

During the Rath Yatra, three grand chariots bearing the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra are ceremonially drawn by devotees from the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple. The deities remain there for a week before returning to the main temple.

The annual Rath Yatra began on Friday and will conclude on July 1, when the chariots carrying the three deities return to the Jagannath Temple.

(ANI)