Cuttack: At least one person was killed and several others were injured in a stampede-like situation on the Badamba-Gopinathpur T-bridge over river Mahanadi leading to Singhanath peeth.
According to Athagarh Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) BK Bisi an elderly woman died of suffocation in the melee.
The injured have been shifted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Badamba. Rescue operation by Fire Service personnel is underway.
Thousands of devotees had gathered at the Singhanath peeth on the occasion of Makar Sankranti for the Makar Mela which began today.
The devotees were crossing the bridge to visit a fair and also to pay obeisance to Lord Singhanath near the bridge when the mishap occurred.
Local MLA Debi Prasad Mishra confirmed that a 45-year-old woman named Anjana Swain died in the stampede, while four seriously injured persons were admitted to the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack city.
The other injured persons were admitted to the nearby community health centre (CHC) in Badamba, he said.
Speaking to reporters following the incident, Athagarh sub-collector Hemanta Kumar Swain said an un-expected number of devotees were visiting the shrine Lord Singhanath. The number of devotees swelled this time since the festival was allowed after a gap of two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Devotees from Cuttack and nearby districts such as Khordha, Puri, Angul, Dhenkanal, Boudh and Nayagarh districts had come to the temple in large numbers.
Meanwhile, the locals alleged that the administration was not fully equipped to manage such a large number of devotees. Adequate number of police personnel were not put in place, they alleged.
(With inputs from IANS)
