At least 12 people died and 15 others were wounded in a stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.
This was triggered by a heavy throng of devotees at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine on New Year’s Day. The stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine took place because of an argument among the devotees, and not enough management to handle this, causing a massive stampede Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh said on Saturday morning, hours after 12 people were reported dead in the incident.
Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha have ordered a high-level inquiry into the mishap. Condolences poured in from all quarters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking to LG Sinha and Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Nityanand Rai to take stock of the situation.
Eyewitnesses claim there was a lack of crowd control and supervision by authorities which led to the stampede.
J&K| 15 injured people were brought to the hospital. 4 were admitted to ICU. 11 people were stable, out of which 3-4 people were discharged after first aid. Around 5 are still under treatment" Dr JP Singh, Neurosurgeon, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital https://t.co/6D8fMA0Zqy pic.twitter.com/AL9M65W6YL
— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2022
The police are involved in the rescue operation and the injured have been admitted to various hospitals, including Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Hospital. The condition of many of the injured was stated to be “serious”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the incident and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each from Prime Minister National Relief Fund to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan and an amount of ₹50,000 for the injured.
Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha also announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh for the next of kin of those who died and ₹2 lakh for the injured.
The operations of the pilgrimage site are handled by the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, which provides battery car and ropeway services to the pilgrims to reach the top of Trikuta hills for darshan.
The cave shrine is situated at an altitude of 5,200 feet in the Reasi district and generally attracts close to a million devotees every year.
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