Poor traffic management,not bribes,responsible for tractor trolleys on bridge,claim officials

The force deployed was too little to handle the number of vehicles and people. There are only two places where large vehicles like tractor trolleys could be parked. One is a clearing just outside the hilltop that houses the temple,and the other is the small barren ground next to the bridge, an officer at the Sevdha police station said.

While the clearing next to the temple was full by 7 am,the land near the bridge,too,filled up quickly. There is a narrow road spanning two kilometres between the bridge and the road. It is too narrow for people and vehicles to pass if parking is allowed. So police and touts who pose as parking attendants dont allow it, the officer said.

Since both parking places were full,people left their tractors on the bridge. The touts took money to allow them to park there. There were tractors on two sides and only a thin space for people to walk in between. When the stampede started,there was nowhere to run, said Bhole Ram,a tea vendor who has a shop near the bridge.

Ram also claimed policemen took bribes an allegation refuted by officials. Perhaps there wasnt very good management,but nobody took bribes. With more than 25,000 people to shepherd,dhyaan bat gaya. Maybe the tractors should have been stopped at the turning from Ratangarh village itself, a district administration official admitted.

The officer added that only the area SHO was present at the venue as other senior police officials were busy making arrangements for the Rahul Gandhi rally in Gwalior on October 17.