Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said on Sunday that he was very sad about a stampede near a temple in Puri, Odisha. He insisted that the incident occurred due to “negligence and mismanagement”, which is not worthy of forgiveness.
Officials said at least three people, including two women, were killed and around 50 others were injured when a stampede near the Shri Gundicha temple on Sunday morning. Kharge wrote on ‘X’, “I am deeply saddened by a stampede incident during the Mahaprabhu Jagannath Rath Yatra, in which three people lost their lives and at least 50 people were injured. The incident happened after the news of 500 devotees being injured during the yatra on Friday.
He wrote, “The negligence and mismanagement that caused this tragedy is incompetent.” Puri District Magistrate Siddharth S Swain said that the incident took place at around four in the morning, when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to watch the Rath Yatra festival.