Pilgrims8217; progress ends in tragedy; five die

MATHURA, MARCH 9: Five persons, including three women, were killed and 20 injured when a fire engulfed a camp at Pani Ghat in Vrindavan, Mat...

MATHURA, MARCH 9: Five persons, including three women, were killed and 20 injured when a fire engulfed a camp at Pani Ghat in Vrindavan, Mathura, yesterday afternoon.

Ten of the injured, among whom four are serious, have been admitted to Safdarjung and LNJP hospitals in New Delhi for treatment. Among the dead, four, who have been identified so far, were from Delhi.

The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. in one of the smaller tents, which housed outstation devotees, who had come to attend the Ram Katha organised by Maharaj Vijay Kaushal. It is believed that one of the devotees was preparing her meal on a small gas cylinder which resulted in the fire.

Ram Sharan, an eye-witness, said: 8220;The fire broke out during lunch time in one of the smaller camps and within minutes it spread to the other tents because of the strong winds. There was a fire tender outside the main pandal8217; where the prayers are held everyday. In half-an-hour the fire was brought under control.8221;

Narrating the incident, 65-year-oldVijay, who suffered five per cent burns said: 8220;When the fire engulfed the tents, people panicked. The exit was not wide enough for everyone. People ran here and there, falling on each other. We were first taken to a private nursing home in Mathura and then shifted to Delhi as most of us were from Delhi.8221;

According to Jagdish Jain, one of the organisers: 8220;The devotees had been warned not to cook their meals inside the tents or light cigarettes or agarbatti8217;. The organisers had confiscated some gas cylinders from the devotees but some of them refused to eat the food served from the community kitchen. Every tent had been provided with a fire extinguisher. It was just an accident.8221;

The Ram Katha function had started on March 1 and was scheduled to end today. While the makeshift prayer hall had the capacity to house 10,000 people, smaller tents had been pitched to accommodate out-station devotees. There were nearly 1,200 people staying in these tents.

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Rescue operations were swift. The organisers as wellas devotees rushed with buckets of water. However, the fire destroyed nearly 10 tents before it could be brought under control.