27 die as thousands jostle for holy dip

The Godavari Pushkaram festival or the “Kumbh of the South” began on Tuesday on a tragic note claiming 27 lives, including that of 13 women, in a major stampede on the banks of River Godavari in Rajahmundry town of Andhra Pradesh. Over 60 people were left injured in the incident that occurred soon after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his family took a dip. 

The tragedy occurred at Gate No. 1 of the Pushkaralu Ghat at Kothamangalam after Naidu and his wife took the holy dip at 6.26 am in the VIP enclosure. As soon as they left the place and boarded the Chief Minister’s car, all hell broke loose as thousands of pilgrims pushed and jostled to be the first to reach the banks of the river for the dip with the belief that the first day’s dip is the most pious. 

Normally, Godavari Pushkaram takes place once in 12 years but this year’s festival assumed even more significance as it is the Maha Pushkaram that takes place once in every 144 years, due to the unique formation of the stars, with the Sun and Jupiter entering the zodiac sign of leo on Tuesday.

Officials said that the pilgrims were entering the bathing ghat and returning from the same gate which led to a melee in which many fell down and were crushed or asphyxiated to death. The State Government has announced a compensation of `10 lakh each for the families of those killed in the tragedy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives during the mega event and discussed the situation with Naidu.

“Deeply pained at the loss of lives due to the stampede at Rajahmundry. My condolences to the families of the deceased & prayers with the injured. Spoke to CM @ncbn & discussed the situation with him. The State Government is working to restore normalcy,” he tweeted.Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi too expressed shock over the loss of lives in the stampede. 

The CPI(M) demanded a probe into the stampede alleging it occurred due to “inadequate” arrangements by the State Government. Naidu said that the problem surfaced as the number of pilgrims reaching the bathing points was more than what was expected. He gave the assurance that the Government would extend full help to the kith and kin of the victims of the stampede. 

Officials said, 24 million people are expected to take part in the 12-day-long festival along the river Godavari in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 

“The injured were taken to the local hospital where they are being treated,” said Arun Kumar, the District Collector of East Godavari. The victims were mostly from East and West Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts.

“The stampede continued for more than 20 minutes. It was a frightening sight with the women and children crying for help. The policemen on duty were helpless to control the massive crowd and it took more than one hour to bring the situation under control,” said V Satyanarayana, an eyewitness.

The religious occasion soon disintegrated into mayhem with bodies of victims lying all around and their relatives wailing and crying for help. Pilgrims alleged that no ambulance was available near the scene of the stampede and help reached very late as all the roads were jam packed with people. Several others complained about the lack of potable water in the area. 

Thousands of pilgrims, riding on buses, trains and other vehicles, had started reaching Rajahmundry two days in advance to be the first to take the holy dip.  Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati was among the spiritual leaders who took the sacred bath. “There is a false belief that taking a dip in the river on the first day of the festival will be more auspicious. It is the same thing, whether you are taking a dip on the first or any other day,” said Swamy Swaroopanand, a local priest.

In neighbouring Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao led the pilgrims by taking the first dip at Dharmapuri town of Karimnagar district. Elaborate security arrangements were made there to regulate the flow of the people.Godavari Pushkaram was also being observed in neighbouring Maharashtra where the river Godavari originates from Western Ghats near Nashik and flows for 1,465 kms before joining the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh.