Day after Puri Rath Yatra stampede, thousands flock to glimpse sibling deities

A day after three people were killed and 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri, thousands of devotees on Monday made a beeline to have a darshan of the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.

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In view of Sunday's incident, barricades have been erected in front of the Shree Gundicha temple and different queues made for the smooth darshan of the deities at 'Adapa Mandap' (the podium on which the deities are seated) situated inside the temple, a senior police officer said.

“We are alert... by the grace of the Lord, everything is running smoothly. Devotees are entering the Shree Gundicha Temple without any hassle,” said Soumendra Priyadarshi, an ADG-rank IPS officer who has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the police arrangement during Rath Yatra.

He was assigned the task by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi after the stampede.

Devotees believe that they can wash away their sins if they have darshan of Lord Jagannath atop the 'Adapa Mandap'.

At least three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha temple in Puri on Sunday morning during a ceremony related to the ongoing Rath Yatra festivities, officials said.

The incident took place around 4.20 am when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple, they said.