Stampede-like situation outside Jagannath Temple, police deny report

Bhubaneswar: A stampede-like situation reportedly took place outside the western gate of the Jagannath Temple in Puri on Wednesday due to heavy rush of devotees for Sankranti. But police have denied the incident.
Though nobody was injured, an elderly woman fell down after being trapped in the rush. Some devotees shot the video and circulated it on social media.
“In the video, we saw devotees pushing each other to enter the temple. Some of them fell down. An elderly woman luckily escaped unhurt despite falling on the ground in the maddening rush,” said S N Mohapatra, a servitor.
Denying the stampede-like situation, superintendent of police (Puri) Kanwar Vishal Singh said, “Neither did any stampede take place nor was anyone injured. The elderly woman fell down as she was unwell. Our personnel rushed to her and offered her help. She is fine.”
A stampede on a bridge connecting Singhanath Temple in Cuttack on January 15 that left one devotee dead and many injured had prompted police to reassess the crowd control measures at famous temples. “Our whole arrangement is devotee oriented and the motive is to ensure hassle-free darshan with special focus on senior citizens and children,”Singh said. TNN