A human stampede occurred on 30 September 2008, at the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, in which 224 people were killedIndia stampede death toll rises, ''BBC News''
(2 October 2008)Death toll in Jodhpur temple stampede rises to 224, ''Hindustan Times''
(3 October 2008) and more than 425 injured. The 15th-century temple is dedicated to the goddess

Chamunda Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

and is located within the premises of Mehrangarh Fort. About 25,000

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

pilgrims were visiting the temple to mark the first day of the nine-day-long

Navratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

, a major festival in Hinduism dedicated to the worship of

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Durga.

Cause

The devotees scrambled towards the door the moment it opened, resulting in the destruction of the barricades. Many people were injured when they lost their footing on the slope approaching the temple. According to '' The Times of India'', local reports suggest that a bomb blast in nearby Mehrangarh created panic among the pilgrims resulting in the stampede. However, the '' BBC News'' reported that a collapsing wall may have also caused the stampede. Some eyewitnesses told '' CNN-IBN'' that a rumour about a bomb being planted in the temple caused panic among pilgrims. Others said there was a scramble in the men's queue; some devotees slipped and soon there was a massive resultant stampede where a day of celebration turned into one of mourning. An eyewitness also said that the path leading to the temple was very narrow with no emergency exit routes.

Aftermath

Indian Army doctors were called to assist the local authorities in the relief operation. Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajnath Singh assured speedy relief to the victims of the tragedy. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited the site and ordered inquiry into the incident. Local authorities revealed that most of the dead were men as the queue for women was separate.

Reactions

Uttarakhand Chief Minister

B C Khanduri Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (Retd.), AVSM, (born 1 October 1934) is an Indian politician. He was Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2007 to 2009 and 2011 to 2012. He was a Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha representing the G ...

and Governor

B L Joshi Banwari Lal Joshi (27 March 1936 – 22 December 2017) was an Indian civil servant and government official who was Governor of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh from 2009 to 24 June 2014. He was previously Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi from 2 ...

both expressed grief over the death of the pilgrims at the Chamunda Devi temple. A Raj Bhavan statement issued a condolence message saying Joshi conveyed his deepest sorrow to the bereaved families of the dead and said he would pray for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident. Khanduri followed too in expressing grief over the accident. He also directed District Magistrates of all the 13 districts of his state to make special arrangements at religious places as they are expected to attract large crowds during the Navratra period. Jodhpur Muslims decided to keep the Eid celebrations next day a low-key affair. Local Muslim youth joined rescue teams, ferried victims to hospitals and donated blood.

References

External links

Picture gallery of the aftermath of stampede
*NDTV: Bloggers vent ire over Jodhpur stampede *Dainik Bhaska

*Dainik Bhaska

*Dainik Bhaska

{{Human stampedes Human stampedes in 2008, Jodhpur stampede Jodhpur stampede Human stampedes in India History of Jodhpur 2000s in Rajasthan Disasters in Rajasthan

Cause

Aftermath

Reactions

See also

References

External links