File photo of Vishnu Devi Shrine
By Rameez Makhdoomi*
Katra: The country woke up on the new year day with the horrific news of stampede at world famous Vaishno Devi Shrine at located in Katra town of Reasi District , Jammu and Kashmir.
Initial reports from ground put death count at 12 and injured at 13, with reports stating that the stampede took place at night around 2:45 am. It is reported that stampede took place as a result of argument breaking and people pushing each other.
In this regard , Union minister Jitendra Singh said that according to the initial information, around 2:30 am at a gate of the shrine, an argument began among some youths while discussing an issue, and this led to the ruckus. He added that he’s immediately rushing to Katra to take stock of the situation.
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha expressed grief, and announced ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for kin of deceased. “Deeply pained at the loss of lives due to stampede at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. My condolences to the families of the deceased and prayers with the injured,” Office of Jammu and Kashmir LG said in a tweet.
Condoling the deaths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the victims of stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000, he announced.
Majority of casualties are from North India
Block medical officer of the Community Health Centre said that of the 12 killed, some are from Delhi, while others are from Punjab and Haryana and one from Jammu and Kashmir. Injured were taken to Naraina Hospital after rescue, he further said.
The voices of sanity on ground call on limiting the crowd to respected shrine.Realities on ground indicate that Vaishno Devi shrine continues to witness heavy rush of devotees, and administration struggling to manage the crowd.
Currently, an estimated 8 million to one crore pilgrims visit the temple every year making it the second most visited religious place in India, after Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The picturesque sanctum is situated at a height of 5300 feet above sea level on the hills of Trikuta mountain range and is 48 km away from Jammu city.
Undoubtedly, better crowd management is the need of the hour in order to avoid such horrific accidents in future.
*Senior Journalist
