Puri stampede shows no lessons learnt
TIRUPATI, Prayagraj, New Delhi, Goa, Bengaluru and now Puri — stampedes are disturbingly becoming par for the course in India. There is a sense of déjà vu about the sequence of events every time — innocent people lose their lives, the government expresses condolences, the victims’ families receive compensation, a probe is ordered, and officials are sacked, suspended or transferred. The hope that lessons will be learnt to prevent such incidents is being repeatedly dashed. In the wee hours of Sunday, three persons were killed and over 50 injured in a stampede near a temple in Odisha’s Puri during a Jagannath Rath Yatra-related ceremony. The ruling BJP finds itself on the back foot — weeks after it tore into Karnataka’s Congress government over the horrific chaos outside Chinnaswamy Stadium.