Three die in devotee rush near West Bengal temple

KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE: A stampedelike situation broke out in heavy rain on a narrow approach road to a temple in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district hours past midnight on Friday, killing three persons and injuring over 20 others, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.

The incident happened near Kachua Loknath temple at Kachua, 50 km from Kolkata, around 3 am where a huge crowd had gathered to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Lokenath Brahmachari, an 18th century Bengali saint, who has followers both in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Banerjee, who rushed to Kolkata’s National Medical College and Hospital where some of the injured were admitted, told reporters, “There was a large crowd at Kachua Loknath temple this year. It started raining heavily in the wee hours and people tried to take shelter at makeshift bamboo stalls on the approach road to the temple. The bamboo structures collapsed after heavy rain. “The place was narrow and in the rush, a few people fell into the pond beside the temple. This created confusion, leading to a stampede-like situation. I am personally monitoring the situation.” Tarun Mondal, Aparna Sarkar and Purnima Ghorai were declared brought dead to hospital, police officers said. District magistrate Chaitali Chakrabarti said the administration would ensure another approach road is built to the temple by next year so there is a dedicated road each for entry and exit of devotees.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh criticised the state government for not setting up proper infrastructure.