Overcrowding blamed for India stampede
2013-02-11 20:03
New Delhi - The Indian government on Monday blamed
overcrowding for the stampede at a railway station in Allahabad that left 36
Hindu pilgrims dead and dismissed witness accounts to the contrary.
Panic broke out on a footbridge between platforms at the
station as in the heart of the city that saw an influx of an estimated 34
million people for the Kumbh Mela festival on Sunday.
"There were too many people on the platforms. It was
not possible for them to board trains immediately. The station was overcrowded.
There was a lot of rush," Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told
reporters in New Delhi.
Railway officials estimated that about 200 000 people
were at the station, which has a capacity of 40 000, at the time.
Some witnesses said the stampede was triggered when the
railing on the bridge broke, while others said it had been caused by police
using batons to control crowds.
"This is totally incorrect. The foot overbridge or
railing did not collapse," Bansal said. The railway had made adequate
arrangements, scheduling 220 special trains to run between Sunday and Tuesday,
he said.
The Uttar Pradesh state government ordered a probe to
determine the cause of the stampede and said the inquiry would be completed
within a month.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "deeply
shocked" by the deaths and ordered all possible help to the bereaved
families.
A state cabinet minister who heads the organising
committee of the two-month long festival resigned on Monday.
"Although the stampede occurred outside the Kumbh
site, I am deeply disturbed and I take moral responsibility and resign as the
in-charge of Kumbh festival," Mohammed Azam Khan said.
The death toll rose overnight on Sunday, as more of the
injured died and bodies were recovered.
"Of the 39 injured admitted last night, 11 were
discharged today. Three among those hospitalised are still serious," said
Allahabad Chief Medical Officer Padmakar Singh.
Most of the injured suffered bone fractures.
"Suddenly there were at least a hundred people on
top of me," Shashi Bhaduri, among those was being treated in hospital,
told the NDTV.
Singh said 26 women, nine men and a child were killed and
23 of the victims had been identified. The number of people missing in the
aftermath of the stampede remained unclear, as people searched for relatives in
hospitals.
Witnesses said deaths could have been prevented if the
injured had been treated on time. They said just one doctor was at the station
to handle scores of injured.
The parents of 8-year-old Muskaan who was injured in the
crush said it took railway officials more than two hours to move her to
hospital.
The Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years and is
considered the largest gathering of people on Earth.
The festival, which features ritual bathing at the
confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati river runs until 10
March.
The worst stampede at the Kumbh Mela occurred in
Allahabad in 1954 when more than 500 people died.
In 2003, 45 people were crushed to death during the
festival the western town of Nashik.
- SAPA
