NEW DELHI, Jul 3 (NNN-PTI) – The death toll in yesterday’s stampede, in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, rose to 121, out of which 88 victims’ bodies were lying at a local trauma centre, 27 at Etah Hospital and one at a hospital in Hathras town, confirmed a local administration official.
Another local official, Divisional Commissioner of Aligarh, Chaitra V. reportedly told media that, the death toll had “risen to 107.”
The death toll was feared to rise further as many injured persons were admitted at various hospitals, out of whom some were said to be in critical conditions.
According to preliminary reports, nearly 50,000 people had congregated at a religious gathering in Sikandra Rao area of Hathras. But there were only 40 police posted at the spot, to manage the huge crowd, added the reports.
Most among the killed were women and children, who died after slipping on the wet ground and falling into a ditch by the roadside. The tragedy was said to have struck after the ceremony, lasting nearly two hours, had ended and people had started to leave.
A religious figure was leaving the venue and people ran towards him to touch his feet and take his blessings. Suddenly there was chaos and people started slipping on the wet ground while running, and began falling on each other, an eyewitness told “Aaj Tak” news channel.
A lady eyewitness, identified as Shakuntala, said that, after the religious ceremony had ended, people started leaving the venue. “Outside, the road was built on high with a drain below. One after another, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed,” she added.
Media reports suggested that “callous attitude” on the part of the local administration and the police, by giving a blind eye to ensuring adequate arrangements at the venue of the religious gathering, had led to the stampede.
Local resident, Ram Asrey Dubey said, “For many years, the religious figure has been giving weekly sermons on every Tuesday in several areas in western Uttar Pradesh. His programmes draw hundreds of thousands of people, but hardly any care is taken to ensure adequate arrangements.”– NNN-PTI
