Puri: Four students fainted inside the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday, as they were caught in a stampede due to the heavy crowd ahead of the New Year celebrations.
The students, who had traveled from a school at Kadabarang village in Bhadrak district, came to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath.
According to reports, the incident occurred when the students were entering the temple for darshan. They were surrounded by a large number of devotees, and the overwhelming crowd led to a stampede near the Nata Mandap area.
Fortunately, they were rescued in critical condition and quickly transported to the Puri District Headquarter Hospital (DHH) in an ambulance. Their condition has since improved.
Despite extensive security measures by the Puri administration to manage the crowd and ensure a safe darshan, the chaos and the large number of people raised concerns and left many shocked.