Nabarangpur, June 29: Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday blamed inadequate arrangements in Puri for the stampede that occurred during the Jagannath Rath Yatra earlier in the day, which claimed at least three lives.
Das also criticized the prevalence of "VIP culture," stating that it hindered effective crowd management. He pointed out several lapses in the overall organization of the event, including issues with the movement of the chariot and poor planning for a program held on Saturday night.
"There was an unusually large crowd this time, but Lord Jagannath's chariot had stopped moving, and not enough effort was made to get it moving again," said Das. "Even the Saturday night event lacked proper arrangements."
He emphasized that the Rath Yatra should prioritize devotees, but that was not the case this year. "VIPs ended up standing between God and the devotees. Nothing happened to the VIPs—they were well looked after. I was present there too, and nothing happened to me," he added.
Calling the incident “unfortunate,” Das demanded a thorough investigation. "Such incidents affecting devotees are unacceptable. The state government must identify those responsible and take appropriate action," he said.
