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Journalism of Courage
Two days after Lord Jagannath’s chariot met with an accident during the Ulto Rath Yatra at Kumarghat in Tripura’s Unakoti district, killing seven people and grievously injuring at least 15 others, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) said it had started an internal investigation into the incident.
Ram Govinda Das, president of ISKCON Agartala, said Friday that he visited three hospitals—at Kumarghat, Kailashahar and Fatikroy—to see the devotees who suffered burns in the tragedy, which took place after the metal chariot came into contact with a high-tension line on Wednesday.
While Das maintained that proper permissions were obtained for the Agartala Ulto Rath Yatra including from the fire and power departments, he said he was not aware of the modalities followed at Kumarghat. “I’m not sure about what happened there. But we are conducting an internal investigation and if anyone is found responsible, they will surely face punishment. But I’m unable to say anything else at the moment,” he told reporters.
Viral social media videos of the incident show bodies of devotees electrocuted to death in broad daylight.
The ISKCON monk’s statement came shortly after another monk of the same order said the power transmission line was “hanging lower than in other areas”, tacitly blaming the government and the power department for the tragedy.
Das, however, said that ISKCON would cooperate with the government. Asked why ISKCON had used an iron chariot for the Ulto Rath Yatra instead of a wooden one as in Puri, Das said the chariot used in the Odisha festival had been traditionally built with wood for centuries. However, he said that following the Puri tradition everywhere was not necessarily possible, because of permissions and legal formalities.
He also said the Jagannath temple at Puri had a tradition of cooking bhog (God offering) on pots placed one above another. But it is not practical or feasible at Agartala, he said. He also reasoned that a metal chariot was used to adapt to the advancement of technology and to keep up with time.
However, the monk said a special committee was formed at the Indian Continental Committee meeting of ISKCON, which started at Puri on Friday, to decide on the future process of building the chariot, its size, build material, safety measures etc. His comments came amid severe criticism from different quarters and on social media about why ISKCON went ahead with a metal chariot, instead of the traditional wooden chariot.
Das visited Kumarghat shortly after the incident but returned to Agartala without meeting the bereaved family members. He said he was short of words, having been overcome with grief, and that he would visit the bereaved families soon.
The ISKCON authorities also said they were contemplating providing compensation to the bereaved families and that they would provide free lodging for family members attending to those injured in hospitals. ISKCON has also offered free education to the children of these families in its schools till the higher secondary level.
Chief Minister Manik Saha rushed to the spot at Kumarghat hours after the incident, which is 120 km away from Agartala, and announced a magisterial inquiry into it. He said that proper action would be taken after he got the inquiry report.
He also announced Rs 4 lakh in compensation for the next of kin of all the deceased people and Rs 2.5 lakh to those who suffered above 60 per cent burns in the incident. He said the government would also provide Rs 75,000 in compensation to each of those with 40-60 per cent burns. This is in addition to the Rs 2 lakh compensation announced by Narendra Modi for each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured people from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
