Bhubaneswar: The death of three devotees in a stampede outside Gundicha Temple in Puri on Sunday morning failed to dampen the spirit as thousands continued to gather for darshan of the deities on their chariots.Saradha Bali, which witnessed chaos and grief following the incident, quickly returned to normalcy with devotees displaying unwavering faith and devotion. Devotees in large numbers watched Pahandi procession of the deities from their chariots into Gundicha Temple in the evening.“We are saddened by the tragedy. But we are not scared. Our faith is stronger than our fear. The Lord has invited us, and we must respond with devotion,” said Saudamini Sarangi, 65, a devotee from Cuttack.Bidyut Mohanty from Jajpur said, “These incidents pain us deeply, but our faith in the Lord remains unshaken. We are taking all precautions while following queue systems.”Sovan Pattnaik, a devotee from Bhubaneswar, said the situation improved soon after the tragedy. “I was present in the crowd when the stampede occurred. There was chaos for about one hour. Normalcy returned within 30 minutes when administration and police officials rushed to the site and streamlined the darshan system. We smoothly offered prayers after the incident,” Pattnaik said.The administration mobilised public address systems and appealed to devotees to maintain calm and discipline, refraining from rumour-mongering that could trigger panic and further chaos. Additional police forces were deployed immediately to manage the situation. Multiple queue systems were implemented, and barricades installed at strategic points to ensure orderly movement near the chariots. “We appealed to devotees to follow the crowd control advisory and security protocols for their own safety. We found that many devotees were taking photographs amid the massive crowd. Comprehensive measures have been taken to streamline the darshan system,” DGP Y B Khurania said.After the stampede, police ensured smooth conduct of Pahandi procession in the evening. Police had reasons to worry as Lord Balabhadra’s idol had slipped and fallen on the wooden ladder during Pahandi last year.
