8 Devotees Dead In Stampede At Sheetla Temple In Bihar's Nalanda; PM, CM Express Grief

Nalanda: At least eight female devotees were killed in a stampede that broke out on Tuesday morning during prayers at the renowned Maa Sheetla Temple in Nalanda district of Bihar.

The mishap coincided with Lord Mahavira Jayanti (birth anniversary) and occurred on a day President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to visit Nalanda University as the chief guest of its convocation ceremony.

The incident occurred around 10:30 am at the temple located in Maghra in Biharsharif. The place witnesses a sizeable number of devotees every Tuesday, resembling a rural fair.

"We are very saddened by the death of eight people in the incident. We appeal to the people for patience in this hour of grief. The temple's management committee should have managed the crowd and made arrangements. Further action is being taken," said rural development minister Shrawon Kumar.

Janata Dal (United) MLC Reena Yadav said, "Eight people have died in the stampede, while several others have been injured. We will fix the responsibility and take action in the matter."

The crowd surpassed expectations because it was the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar, and no adequate arrangements were made to manage the flow of people.

"A huge crowd of devotees converged at the temple because of the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month and the holiday for Mahavira Jayanti. The flow of people started increasing around 9 am. Barricades and police personnel were not present on the occasion,” said Lalit Kumar, a local devotee.

Another devotee, Geeta Devi, a resident of Mithapur locality in Patna, was at the temple at the time of the stampede. "We could not enter and pray at the temple because the administration stopped devotees from entering the premises after the stampede," Geeta said.

Worship rituals and prayers at the temple were temporarily halted after the stampede.

Bihar Sharif Assistant Superintendent of Police Noorul Haque told a news agency, "At least eight women died in the stampede at Shitala Mata temple on Tuesday morning. Police personnel and officials of the district administration have reached the spot, and the rescue work is on."

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the deaths and announced Rs six lakh compensation to the next of kin of the deceased. He directed the senior officials to reach the place of occurrence for rescue and relief operations.

Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended condolences over the loss of lives and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured. "The mishap in Nalanda district, Bihar, is deeply painful. I extend my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured," said PMO.

"An ex-gratia of Rs two lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000," PMO added.

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