Bhubaneswar: Death of three devotees in a stampede near the chariots at Gundicha Temple in Puri early on Sunday has raised questions about the effectiveness of police’s crowd control measures, despite deployment of advanced AI cameras and substantial manpower.On Friday, the chariot of Lord Jagannath could not be pulled till evening due to the influx of thousands of devotees following a reported breach of security cordon.Although the chariot pulling ceremony proceeded smoothly with the participation over 12 lakh devotees on Friday and Saturday, alleged mismanagement of a smaller gathering of around 20,000 people near the Gundicha Temple led to the stampede early Sunday morning. Local devotees claimed the deployment of police was very thin during the incident.Police had earlier announced the deployment of 275 AI-enabled cameras and drones for real-time crowd monitoring, security and traffic management during the nine-day Rath Yatra festival that commenced on Friday.While at least two IPS officers were assigned to oversee crowd management, 5 companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF), 6 SP-rank officers, 7 ASPs, 24 DSPs, 42 inspectors, 189 sub-inspectors/assistant SIs, 12 havildars, 110 home guards and 52 platoons of state police were deployed specifically to handle crowds.The confined and congested space at Saradha Bali in front of Gundicha Temple was a major factor behind the incident, official sources said.“Unlike the spacious chariot parking area near Jagannath Temple, the location in front of Gundicha Temple can accommodate a maximum of 5,000 or 6,000 devotees. Stampedes can occur when chariots are moving. However, tragedy struck before stationary chariots near Gundicha Temple, a first in the history,” said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple. Security experts and devotees criticised the police for failing to anticipate the massive weekend crowd and lowering their guard after the chariot-pulling ceremony on Friday and Saturday.“Police should have anticipated the Sunday rush and made appropriate arrangements. The restricted space combined with inadequate crowd management created a perfect storm for disaster,” said Sahadeb Mohanty, a retired police DSP. “I suspect the personnel lowered their guard after the successful chariot pulling on Friday and Saturday, and did not take any pre-emptive measure for the remaining days of the festival,” he said.“Govt has already taken prompt action against negligence. Senior police officers are on the spot to ensure comprehensive security and crowd control measures,” law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. Previous crowd mismanagement had led to tragedies during Rath Yatra in 2008 (six deaths), 2010 (one death), 2011 (one death), 2015 (two deaths), and 2024 (one death).Bhubaneswar: Death of three devotees in a stampede near the chariots at Gundicha Temple in Puri early on Sunday has raised questions about the effectiveness of police’s crowd control measures, despite deployment of advanced AI cameras and substantial manpower.On Friday, the chariot of Lord Jagannath could not be pulled till evening due to the influx of thousands of devotees following a reported breach of security cordon.Although the chariot pulling ceremony proceeded smoothly with the participation over 12 lakh devotees on Friday and Saturday, alleged mismanagement of a smaller gathering of around 20,000 people near the Gundicha Temple led to the stampede early Sunday morning. Local devotees claimed the deployment of police was very thin during the incident.Police had earlier announced the deployment of 275 AI-enabled cameras and drones for real-time crowd monitoring, security and traffic management during the nine-day Rath Yatra festival that commenced on Friday.While at least two IPS officers were assigned to oversee crowd management, 5 companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF), 6 SP-rank officers, 7 ASPs, 24 DSPs, 42 inspectors, 189 sub-inspectors/assistant SIs, 12 havildars, 110 home guards and 52 platoons of state police were deployed specifically to handle crowds.The confined and congested space at Saradha Bali in front of Gundicha Temple was a major factor behind the incident, official sources said.“Unlike the spacious chariot parking area near Jagannath Temple, the location in front of Gundicha Temple can accommodate a maximum of 5,000 or 6,000 devotees. Stampedes can occur when chariots are moving. However, tragedy struck before stationary chariots near Gundicha Temple, a first in the history,” said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of Jagannath Temple. Security experts and devotees criticised the police for failing to anticipate the massive weekend crowd and lowering their guard after the chariot-pulling ceremony on Friday and Saturday.“Police should have anticipated the Sunday rush and made appropriate arrangements. The restricted space combined with inadequate crowd management created a perfect storm for disaster,” said Sahadeb Mohanty, a retired police DSP. “I suspect the personnel lowered their guard after the successful chariot pulling on Friday and Saturday, and did not take any pre-emptive measure for the remaining days of the festival,” he said.“Govt has already taken prompt action against negligence. Senior police officers are on the spot to ensure comprehensive security and crowd control measures,” law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. Previous crowd mismanagement had led to tragedies during Rath Yatra in 2008 (six deaths), 2010 (one death), 2011 (one death), 2015 (two deaths), and 2024 (one death).
