Stampede-like situation during Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri; several injured, 1 critical
Several devotees have been injured in a stampede-like situation during the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha on Sunday.
PTC News Desk: Several devotees have been injured in a stampede-like situation during the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in the seaside pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha on Sunday.
According to sources, one person was critically injured during the 'pulling of the chariot' ceremony.
The incident occurred on Bada Danda, Puri's Grand Road, where a grand procession was taking place.
According to witnesses, one person was critically injured in a mishap during the chariot pulling. The incident occurred during the pulling of Lord Balabhadra's chariot, which traditionally leads the procession.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals where they received treatment.
The Rath Yatra, an important festival in Odisha, attracts thousands of devotees who gather to see the majestic chariots and help pull them.
Thousands of people pulled massive chariots from Puri's 12th-century Jagannath shrine to Gundicha temple, which was about 2.5 kilometres away.
The chariot pulling began about 5.20 p.m., when Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanada Saraswati and his students visited the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra, and the titular king of Puri finished the 'Chhera Pahanra' (chariot sweeping) ritual.