‘Devotees fell on slippery floor, triggering chain reaction’

Jodhpur Divisional Commissioner Kiran Soni said that the incident happened around 6.10 am and confirmed that 147 people had died, while sources claimed the figure could rise up to 200. “The stampede happened in a narrow passage that led down into the main temple, where close to 300 people had gathered. The floor was slippery and a few devotees fell, triggering a chain reaction,” Soni said. She added that no women were among the deceased as they were in a separate queue.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited the spot in the afternoon and later met the injured admitted at the Mahatma Gandhi hospital and Mathura Das Mathur hospital. She announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured and also ordered a judicial probe into the tragedy.

Addressing mediapersons, Raje said, “It is a terrible tragedy to happen on the first day of Navratri. An enquiry will be conducted into the incident.” Former chief minister Ashok Ghelot also visited the spot and the injured.

The Mehrangadh fort is constructed in such a manner that it is impossible for vehicles to reach the temple premises. The devotees have to first climb up the fort on foot and then descend down to visit the temple.

According to Jodhpur (rural) Superintendent of Police Giriraj Lala Meena, since the vehicles could not go up, the injured had to be physically carried by the rescue teams to the waiting ambulances below. This made the the rescue work even more difficult, Meena said.

The climb from the fort main gate to the temple stairwell, where the stampede occurred, is treacherous. It took this reporter 40 minutes to climb up the twisted path to the temple from the fort gate, even when the area was completely evacuated.

Mahendra Singh, the CEO of the Mehrangadh Museum Trust, said, “The 500-metre route was packed with 15,000 people, who did not know of the stampede and still kept pressing towards the temple. It was only after the first bodies were brought down that the crowds began evacuating the temple and we could rescue the others trapped.” He added that the stairwell was well regulated till some miscreants broke the queues and tried to jump over those in front.

“I had just reached the top of the stairway when suddenly I was pushed hard from behind. I landed on the person right in front and more people fell on my back. I could not breath and I fell unconscious. My friends told me I woke up after two hours in the Mahatma Gandhi hospital,” said Siddharam (33), one of the injured. Another injured devotee, Swaroop Rathi (20), can barely recollect the incident. “I only remember getting a glimpse of the idol and feeling happy. Then I was pushed to the ground and felt people falling on me. I could hear men screaming for help, but I could not move or breathe and blacked out,” Rathi said.

Rathi, a heart patient, considered himself lucky to have survived the mishap.