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Puri: At least two persons died and over 130 were injured in two different incidents during Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Odisha, officials said on Monday.
A resident of Bolangir district died allegedly due to suffocation in a stampede-like situation on Sunday during the Rath Yatra in Puri, a health official said.
According to sources, the devotee fainted on Grand Road while pulling the chariot of Lord Balabhadra. He was immediately rushed to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital, where the doctor declared him brought dead.
Expressing grief over his death, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
He also instructed officials concerned to ensure the best available medical care for the injured devotees.
In another incident, a devotee allegedly died after coming under the wheels of a chariot during Rath Yatra in Jharsuguda district on Sunday, police said.
The mishap occurred during the pulling of the chariot of Jagannath temple at Kukujangha village in the district. The deceased has been identified as Shyam Sundar Kishan (45).
While pulling the chariot, he accidentally fell and the wheels of the chariot ran over him. He was immediately rushed to the district headquarters hospital, where he died while undergoing treatment.
More than 130, including a few police personnel, were also injured during the Rath Yatra in Puri, a health officer of Puri district said.
Half of the injured persons have been discharged after treatment on the same day while at least 40 persons are undergoing treatment, he said.
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