Bhubaneswar, Jul 31 (PTI) Odisha Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Thursday submitted the inquiry report into the June 29 stampede near Sri Gundicha Temple in Puri that claimed three lives and left several others injured during Rath Yatra.
The report, submitted to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, comes exactly within the 30-day deadline set for the probe.
An official said Garg held different public hearing sessions in Bhubaneswar and Puri before preparing her final report.
Apart from the hearing sessions, Garg took note of CCTV footage, video clips, still pictures of the incident, the official said, adding that the development commissioner prepared the report after holding discussions with different stakeholders like the police, administration, servitors, victim families and others.
Three persons, including two women, were killed and over 50 others injured in the stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple in Puri during a ceremony related to the Rath Yatra festivities.
The incident took place around 4.20 am on June 29 when thousands of devotees had gathered near the chariots parked in front of the temple.
The Gundicha Temple, located around 3km from the 12th century shrine, is the aunt’s house of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra.
In the aftermath, the state government initiated a probe to examine crowd management protocols and emergency response measures.
Garg was also suggested to make recommendations on how to avoid such incidents in future, an official said.
Immediately after the stampede, Majhi announced and ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the next of kin of deceased persons identified as — Basanti Sahu (36) from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty (80) and Pravati Das (42) from Balipatna.
The government also removed the Puri collector and the SP and suspended two police officers for dereliction of duty.
Though the details of Garg’s findings and recommendations are yet be made public, the report will help the government understand the lapses and implement measures for the safety of devotees in future. PTI AAM AAM MNB
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