No crowd control at temple: Eyewitness

Biharsharif: According to locals, the crowd at the temple swelled early in the morning as thousands of devotees gathered for “darshan”. However, the situation allegedly went out of control due to inadequate crowd management.Mamta Kumari from Patna, who had accompanied a friend for “darshan”, broke down while speaking to reporters. She blamed the temple committee for failing to control the massive crowd. “There was no proper arrangement to manage devotees,” she said while waiting outside the hospital where her friend was undergoing treatment. Pankaj Kumar of Deepnagar, who sustained injuries in the incident, alleged that no police personnel had been deployed despite the temple witnessing heavy footfall on the last Tuesday of the Chaitra month. He also accused the temple management and priests of focusing more on collecting “Dakshina” rather than ensuring proper arrangements for devotees.Rahul Kumar, a resident of Bishunpur village, termed the tragedy an administrative lapse. “Security for the President is important, but managing public safety is equally crucial,” he said.Meanwhile, a local resident who helped rescue several devotees claimed that priests had allowed people to enter through a back gate, causing confusion and triggering the stampede.