Elderly pilgrim from UP dies of heart attack inside Jagannath temple in Puri, overcrowding blamed

The doctors confirmed that the devotee collapsed and died due to the heavy crowd inside the temple. The death of the pilgrim evoked condemnation from several quarters. People blamed the authorities for their alleged failure to control the crowd.

Puri: A 65-year-old man, who went to Jagannath temple in Puri on pilgrimage, died of heart inside the temple. The deceased, Rajendra Saharia of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh suffered suffocation at the temple which saw a heavy crowd.

Immediately, family members took him out of the temple and brought him to Puri Medical Centre by an ambulance arranged by the temple authorities. The doctor declared him dead on arrival at the medical facility.

The doctors confirmed that the devotee collapsed and died due to the heavy crowd inside the temple. The death of the pilgrim evoked condemnation from several quarters. People blamed the authorities for their alleged failure to control the crowd.

According to them, this is not a single incident as similar incidents also happened before. A few days ago, when some schoolchildren came to see Lord Jagannath, they fell unconscious in the heavy crowd. Even at the barricades of the temple, there are instances where the devotees are standing for hours, and many times the devotees faint.

In January, two devotees fell unconscious and were rushed to hospital after they were trapped in a stampede-like situation inside the Jagannath Temple, police said. The two, a woman from Hatagadia Sahi in Puri district and a minor girl from Pithapur area in Cuttack district, had to be admitted to the district headquarters hospital soon after the incident. In 2022, six schoolgirls from Mayurbhanj district were hospitalised after being injured in a stampede-like situation at the temple amid a heavy rush of devotees.