Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): Taking a serious view on the stampede that took place at Banke Bihar temple in Mathura on the occasion of Janmashtami in which two people had died due to suffocation and four others were injured, the Allahabad Bench of the Lucknow High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to furnish the status report on crowd management at important religious places in the state.
While hearing a petition filed by applicant Anant Sharma, the Allahabad Bench of the High Court of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice JJ Munir sought an answer from the UP government regarding what type of arrangement or blueprint, the UP government has chalked out to prevent such incident in future.
Read: Two devotees die during stampede at Banke Bihari temple in Mathura
Petitioner Anant Sharma in his petition alleged that tardy crowd management by the Mathura administration led to the incident at Banke Bihar temple. For preventing such incidents at Banke Bihari temple, the Mathura administration didn't have proper arrangements to control the surging crowd of devotees, the petition stated.
The petitioner further alleged that the Banke Bihari temple was constructed in 1860 when Mathura had less population. At least five lakh devotees thronged the temple while jostling for space at just 1,200 square feet. The space at the temple has also shrunk due to the setting up of the VIP corridor as well as encroachments upon the temple land.
