Katha Catastrophe: Bhilwara Stampede Shakes Dhirendra Shastri's Event
BHILWARA, Rajasthan, Nov. 7, 2024 — A stampede took place at a Hanuman Katha event conducted by Bhakt storyteller Dhirendra Shastri in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, leaving several women injured. The chaos took place on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. near Terapanth Nagar, Choti Harani, where the Shri Tekari's Hanuman Ji Katha Samiti had arranged for the religious program.
The event, scheduled until November 10 was marred by a sudden rush of panic in the crowd forcing everyone towards the exits. According to local reports, it is negligence on the part of the organizers of the event and security officers who caused the stampede. The reports portrayed that it was poor crowd regulation together with the inability of security guards manning the premises to control the flow of attendants to and from the various seats that contributed to the stampede.
While Katha was being observed, six women got injured while trying to run out from the crowd surge pressing and toppling over on them. Emergency services were mobilized at the scene, and the injured people were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. In the meantime, authorities have successfully managed the situation with no casualties reported so far.
The safety of our visitors is paramount, said a representative of Shri Tekari's Hanuman Ji Katha Samiti. We regret the incident and are fully cooperating with the authorities in ascertaining the cause. Such incidents will not recur.
The local police have opened an investigation into the incident, and the roles of the organizers and the security guards are now being investigated in their involvement with the mishap. Preliminary findings suggest that overcrowding and inappropriate security arrangements top the list of causes for the stampede. The police are running footage from surveillance cameras and interviewing witnesses in order to pinpoint lapses in safety protocols.
Concerning the safety standards in massive events, community leaders and those attending it raise their voices. "These kinds of events are culturally and religiously significant, but participant safety should never be at stake," said Asha Mehta, a local resident and Katha attendee. "The management of crowds coupled with the right security measures will ensure peaceful enjoyment for all.".
Shri Tekari's Hanuman Ji Katha Samiti promised to increase the safety measures taken during its next events after this incident. More security personnel will be present for a better crowd control system, and a proper risk assessment before holding of each event will also be conducted.
The incident has demanded more stringent needs to propose safety regulations at religious and cultural gathering places in Rajasthan. Mandatory training for the event organizer as well as security teams to handle large crowds has come into demand so that this may never happen again.
While Bhilwara took the first step in healing from the mayhem it witnessed over the last weekend, making it assured that the injured were rescued and learning lessons for the future so such incidents never occur again would form a common voice across the town for better safety measures as people stood together with hope for such tragedies to never recur.
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