by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Tuesday's stampede in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh further rose to 121, among whom were 114 women, six children and one man, said a local administration official on Wednesday.
Nearly 28 injured people were undergoing treatment at a local hospital, where their condition was said to be stable. Personal belongings of the dead and those injured, including bags, footwear, and food-packets, lay strewn at the spot of the stampede, showed TV news channels on Wednesday morning.
The stampede was said to have struck at around 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday after a religious ceremony. When a religious figure was leaving the venue, 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, said an eyewitness. Most of the killed died after slipping on the wet ground and falling into a ditch by the roadside.
"Outside the road was built on a height with a drain below. One after the other, people started falling into it. Some people got crushed," said another eyewitness.
On condition of anonymity, the local official said the main cause of the stampede was the presence of a huge crowd much beyond the capacity of the tent which was erected for the religious congregation.
"The organizers had sought permission from the local administration for a congregation of 80,000 people. But, rough estimates tell us that over 200,000 people had gathered. Also, the organizers had told the local police that they had enough volunteers and private security personnel to handle the overall management and security in and outside the venue. Investigation is on," said the official.
There were around 10,000 to 12,000 volunteers present at the spot when the tragedy struck, said various media reports.
According to the reports, there was a core committee comprising 17 volunteers who were assigned the task of manning the security and looking after the overall management of the religious congregation.
Local resident Ram Asrey Dubey told Xinhua over the phone, "For many years, the religious figure has been giving weekly sermons every Tuesday in several areas in western Uttar Pradesh. His programs draw hundreds of thousands of people, but hardly any care is taken to ensure adequate arrangements."
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the organizers of the religious congregation. Chief Volunteer Devprakash Madhukar and a few others were named as the main accused in the FIR for "failing to handle the safety and security of the people at the congregation," a local police told Xinhua over the phone.
Meanwhile, one public interest litigation was filed before the Supreme Court of India and another filed before the Allahabad High Court seeking a detailed inquiry into the tragedy and prosecution against those found guilty.
On Wednesday morning, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached the spot of the horrific tragedy to meet the injured people admitted at a local hospital and seek a detailed report about the stampede from the local administration and police officials. ■
