Mandher Devi temple crowd incident 25/01/2005
Hundreds die in pilgrimage crush
Hundreds of Hindu pilgrims were crushed or burned to death in a stampede and electrical fire at a religious festival in western India.
It was a tragedy waiting to happen
WAI / PUNE, JAN. 26. Volunteers and police today continued to search for bodies at Mandhradevi Hills in Maharashtra, where about 300 people were killed in a stampede yesterday.
Nightmare of India temple stampede
An acrid smell of burning fills the air and debris is scattered all around the Mandhar Devi temple in India’s Maharashtra state.
300 killed in Maharashtra temple stampede
WAI (SATARA DT.) JAN. 25. An auspicious day turned into a nightmare today as about 300 people, mostly women and children, were killed in a stampede on the narrow road leading to the Kalubai temple in Mandradevi, 18 km from Wai in Maharashtra’s Satara district. Authorities said 270 bodies had been recovered so far.
Maharashtra temple stampede toll rises to 340
Mumbai, January 25: The Mandhra Devi temple, where more than 340 devotees were trampled to death during an annual pilgrimage in Maharashtra, was closed on Wednesday even as fire brigade and police continued clearing operations.
Hundreds of years of neglect ready to trigger series of catastrophe –more than 375 Hindu devotees dead in Maharashtra temple stampede
In India there are thousands of temples and these temples are visited by millions of devotees every year. Hindu temples unlike other religious entities do not have a formal organized fund raising infrastructure. The temple authorities seldom ask people to donate unless they wish to from their heart. This gives rise to neglected infrastructure where at some point of time in a year millions of people assemble to worship God. The infrastructure and facilities are so neglected by the local and Central Government that catastrophe can occur any time. More than 3000 temples in India are ready to collapse because of lack of neglect and maintenance all over the country.
Crushed by the crowd
The stampede and fire at the Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra, in which some 300 people died, provides an occasion to look at the safety measures at India’s many pilgrim centres.
