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Stampede: Naveen government draws flak

BHUBANESWAR: The Naveen Patnaik Government came under severe criticism on Saturday with Opposition parties holding it responsible for the stampede during Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri on Friday in which six persons were killed and many were seriously injured.

The State unit of Nationalist Congress Party held the government squarely responsible for the stampede. It was a clear case of laxity on the part of the government and the police administration, the party leaders said.

At a press conference here, party’s State unit president and former Minister Bijay Mohapatra said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Law Minister Biswabhushan Harichandan, Home Secretary Tarunkanti Mishra, Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda, and the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police of Puri were all responsible for the incident.

Observing that the incident occurred despite the fact that the Chief Minister had himself reviewed the arrangements before the Yatra, Mr. Mohapatra said a criminal case should be registered against these persons holding them responsible for the death of six devotees.

Mr. Mohapatra, who visited the stampede site soon after the incident, said the administration had left a narrow passage for the crowd and the same led to breaking of the barricade and stampede.

Pointing out that incident took place when the Chief Minister and most of his Cabinet colleagues were witnessing the festival,

Mr. Mohapatra blamed the police for giving more attention to their political masters than smooth conduct of the Yatra.

Referring to the Chief Minister’s announcement that the Member of Board of Revenue will conduct a probe into the incident,

Mr. Mohapatra said the inquiry will not serve any purpose. Inquiries into similar tragedies in Sri Jagannath temple had not given any result, he said.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and former Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik said the stampede incident had brought a bad name to the state.

Stating that it was a clear case of security lapse, the Opposition Leader said the Chief Minister should apologise to people for the failure of the administration.

On the other hand, the Puri police had not been able to establish the identity of three of the deceased persons till Saturday evening. The body of three other victims, two women from Bhubaneswar and a man from Keonjhar, had been handed over to their relatives.

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