Puri-based Rights activist Jayanta Kumar Das has submitted a petition before the National Human Rights Commission on the callousness of the authorities owing to which a 70-year-old man died on November 11 last in Puri in a stampede.
The deceased identified as Nidhi Behera of Gobinda Prasad village under Fategarah police limits in Nayagarh district died while standing in a long queue in a barricade erected at the Grand Road, Puri leading to the lion’s Gate of the lord Jagannath Temple. Das alleged that the State Government is aware that lakhs of pilgrims used to visit lord Jagannath Temple Puri on the occasion of Deepawali to offer “Shradha” to their ancestors but it failed to ensure smooth crowd management.
He held the Health and family Welfare Department, Home Department (Police & Fire), local administration and lord Jagannath Temple Administration responsible for the death of the senior citizen.
He urged the NHRC to take cognisance of the matter and direct the Government of Odisha to set up an independent inquiry committee to know the lacuna of the different Government departments leading to such accidents and submit an Action Taken Report.
Besides he urged the Commission to direct the State Government to take legal action against the erring public servants for negligence of duty, pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and recover the same from the erring public servants.
Moreover, he urged for separate queue and special provision for the senior citizens to avoid any accident, special attention and care for the safety and security of senior citizens, ambulance, life saving drugs and machineries, doctors, nurse near the barricade, drinking water to the pilgrims standing in long queue, fire tender to sprinkle water, sufficient number of police and home guards to control the heavy rush and avoid stamped and not allow any VVIP, VIP four wheelers to park in front of lion’s Gate.