Locals blame 'poor planning' for Kachua temple tragedy

Kolkata: A day after the Lokenath temple tragedy killed five persons and injured 20, local residents in Kachua on Saturday blamed the local administration and the temple committee officials for poor handling of the crowd.

The people in the area accused police for poor crowd control and lack of planning. They alleged that the temple committee and local police administration did not chalk out any alternative route to clear the crowd in case of any untoward incident. "The tragedy happened due to lack of proper planning," said Montu Biswas, a local resident.

He also alleged that the approach road to the temple is very narrow and the situation turns dire whenever there is a surge of devotees during any occasion. It was also alleged

by the villagers that the police had refused to open the six drop gates leading to the temple.

There were very few police officials to manage the crowd. The number of devotees surpassed all records this year, giving anxious hours to the district administration.

The devotees had taken shelter under a shed close the temple as it was raining heavily on the day of the incident. When it stopped raining, the devotees started rushing into the temple, leading to a stampede-like situation. Some of them fell down and suffered severe injuries.

The injured persons were rushed to various hospitals in the city and the districts. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee soon announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh for grievously injured persons and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.