In Nalanda, faith turned fatal

In Nalanda, faith turned fatal

On March 31, over 10,000 devotees, mostly women, thronged the Sheetla Mata temple in Nalanda, Bihar. The temple, which normally holds 500-1,000 people, was overwhelmed, triggering a stampede that claimed nine lives. Victims’ families allege that priests let devotees enter through the exit gate after collecting money. Amit Bhelari reports on how poor crowd management and inadequate arrangements worsened the tragedy

Eight feared dead, dozens injured after stampede at Bihar’s Sheetala Mata temple in Nalanda

Eight women were killed, and over a dozen more were injured in a crowd crush at a temple in Bihar’s Nalanda on Tuesday. The crowd surge took place at the Sheetla Mata Temple under the Dipnagar Police station. A large number of devotees had gathered on Tuesday morning to offer prayers as it was the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month. Eyewitnesses say chaos broke out among the crowd, which triggered a stampede. As people tried to escape, several wo…