Haridwar, July 28 (IANS) At least eight people were killed and 30 others were injured in a stampede that broke out at the Mansa Devi Temple in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar on Sunday.

The incident occurred due to overcrowding in the temple premises as thousands of devotees thronged the sacred site during the ongoing holy month of Shravan.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed deep condolences over this accident.

Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, said that at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) received information about a sudden stampede at the Mansa Devi temple. The SEOC immediately established contact with the District Emergency Operations.

According to the information received from Haridwar District Administration, eight people have died and 30 have been injured in the stampede incident in the Mansa Devi Temple premises.

The deceased include minors and elderly pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand. Among them are: Aarush (12), Bareilly, UP; Vikki (18), Rampur, UP; Vishal (19), Rampur, UP; Vipin Saini (18), Kashipur, Uttarakhand; Vakeel (43), Barabanki, UP; Ram Bharose (65) and Shanti Devi (60), Budaun, UP; and Shakaldev (18), Araria, Bihar.

The District Administration informed that there was some difference in the number of injured in the primary information received by the State Emergency Operation Centre through telephone and other means and the list issued by the District Administration after a thorough investigation.

Some people with minor injuries, who left immediately for their homes after first aid, were not included in the list of injured.

Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Vinod Kumar Suman informed that a revised list of the injured is being issued after a thorough investigation at the level of the District Administration, and after talking to the family members.

The police/revenue/NDRF/SDRF, and the district administration team promptly carried out rescue and relief work at the site of the incident. The injured are being treated at AIIMS Rishikesh and the District Hospital.

The injured hail from various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Haryana, and Chandigarh. Many are receiving treatment at Haridwar’s medical facilities, while others have been shifted to AIIMS Rishikesh.

Among the injured are: Kuldeep Kumar Prajapati (33) and Aarti (32) from Kanpur; Reena Das (37) from West Bengal; Gyanti Devi (40) from Chapra, Bihar; Gayatri (22) from Faridabad, Haryana; Ajay (19) from Chandigarh; Aradhana (6) and Vinod Shah (35) from Bhagalpur, Bihar; Nirmala (28) and Somya (5) from Bareilly, UP; Inder (60) from Panipat, Haryana; Sheetal (17) and Arjun (25) from Rampur and Moradabad, UP; Kriti (6) and Rohit (22) from Bihar and Mainpuri, UP; Anuj (20) from Moradabad, UP; Ekashi (4) and Diksha (35) from Rampur, UP; Roshan (45) from Amroha, UP; Kavita (23) from Bareilly, UP; Meera (28) from Moradabad, UP; Rajkumar (14), Kajal (24), Vishal (21), and Manoj (30) from UP and Bihar.

Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Vinod Kumar Suman has appealed to the devotees not to pay heed to rumours and trust only the information being issued by the administration.

–IANS

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