PATNA: India yesterday launched an inquiry into a stampede which killed 18 women and children when a makeshift bridge collapsed at a Hindu festival, as devotees returned to pray at the scene of the tragedy.
The incident in the eastern city of Patna, near the Ganges river, occurred late on Monday as tens of thousands of worshippers rushed to offer prayers to the setting sun as part of the Hindu ritual of Chhath.
Despite the disaster, thousands of worshippers returned to the site before sunrise to pray as part of the festival schedule, offering fruits to the gods, lighting candles and bathing in the sacred water. Relatives of victims gathered at a mass cremation on the riverbank, with many survivors saying poor organisation of the event caused the stampede. Sunil Mahto said he was lucky to escape the crush of human bodies tumbling from the collapsed bridge.
“I blame the police and officials for failing to control the large crowds which were expected at this time,” Mahto said. “I thank the almighty that I am alive.” Along the muddy riverbank, the remains of the rope and bamboo bridge were still in place and the ground was scattered with discarded clothes, home-made sweet offerings and abandoned shoes.
Court slams Tamil Nadu’s lethargy on
nuclear plant issue
New Delhi: Observing that there could be no compromise on safety, the Supreme Court lashed out at the Tamil Nadu government for being lethargic in putting in place a plan for the evacuation of people in the event of an accident at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).
Saying that there could be no compromise on the issue of safety of the plant, the apex court bench of Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice Dipak Misra asked the state government “how and where they (people) will be evacuated” in the event of an accident.
“Your (Tamil Nadu government’s) attitude seems to be lethargic... we want seriousness from you,” the court said. The court frowned at the attitude of the Tamil Nadu government while hearing a petition seeking to restrain the government from operationalising KNPP-I and II in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district.
Agencies
