The Prime Minister's Office also announced an amount of ₹ 2 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede
SRINAGAR: The New Year began on a gloomy note as, at least, twelve pilgrims died and fourteen others were injured in a stampede that occurred at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at around 2.45 am on Saturday, sending shock waves across the country and beyond.
A report, not confirmed by officials, put the number of the injured at 20. The authorities said that the injured are being treated at Naraina hospital at Katra, the basecamp of the revered place of Hindu worship tucked away in Trikuta hills near Jammu and Kashmir’s winter capital Jammu. A medical official Dr. Gopal Dutt said, “Fatal casualties are from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and one from J&K”.
Initial reports said that the stampede occurred at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan following an argument broke out over some issue resulting in the people pushing each other. However, another report said that the incident occurred when a huge crowd of devotees, who had come to pay their obeisance to mark the beginning of the New Year, entered the Vaishno Devi Bhawan. J&K’s Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, said that the rescue operations started immediately and all the injured were quickly taken to the nearby health facility.
While Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is “personally monitoring and keeping track” of the situation, J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, has ordered a high-level inquiry and announced ex-gratia relief of ₹ one million for the kin of each deceased person and ₹ 200,000 for the injured. He also said that the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (MVDSB) will bear the cost of treatment of the injured.
The Prime Minister's Office also announced an amount of ₹ 2 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede and ₹ 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.
"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan," said the Prime Minister, sending his "condolences to the bereaved families."
Sinha tweeted, “Spoke to Hon'ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji. Briefed him about the incident. A high-level inquiry has been ordered into today's stampede.” Later he also spoke to the Prime Minister to brief him on the incident and the steps taken by the government to deal with the situation arising out of the tragic incident, the sources said.
President Ramnath Kovind, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and a host of other leaders and government functionaries have expressed their shock over the tragic incident and condoled with the bereaved.
The President tweeted, “Very distressed to know that an unfortunate stampede claimed lives of devotees at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhavan. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery to those injured.”
Meanwhile, the Vaishno Devi Yatra has resumed after a brief suspension following the stampede. The registration of pilgrims at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan at Katra also resumed hours after the tragic incident, the SMVDSB officials said.