President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed profound grief over the loss of lives in a stampede at Bihar’s Lakhisarai district.
“The news of the deaths of devotees in the stampede in Lakhisarai district of Bihar is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to the grief-stricken families. I pray for the swift recovery of those who have been injured,” read a post on X by the President of India.
The Prime Minister stated that his thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief and prayed for the earliest recovery of the injured. He added that the local administration is actively assisting those affected.
In a post on PMO India on X, the Prime Minister wrote: “Pained by the loss of lives due to a stampede in Lakhisarai, Bihar. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover at the earliest. The local administration is assisting those affected. “
At least seven people were killed and 14 others injured in a stampede near the Ashok Dham temple in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district on Monday, officials said.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has announced an ex gratia assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the incident.
“The next of kin of all those who lost their lives in the tragic accident at Ashok Dham Halt in Lakhisarai will be provided an ex-gratia assistance of ₹4 lakh each by the state government. In this hour of grief, the state government stands with the bereaved families with full empathy and commitment,” Choudhary said in a post on X.
The incident occurred around 6.30 am as a large number of devotees gathered at the temple, a prominent Shiva shrine in the region, to observe the third Monday of the holy month of Shravan.
Lakhisarai District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar told PTI that a section of the barricades gave way under the pressure of the crowd, causing people to trip and fall.
Rescue operations were underway, with the injured being shifted to the nearest government hospital. Officials were working to ascertain the identities of the deceased and injured, Kumar said.
Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh also expressed grief over the loss of lives. He said that as the crowd swelled at the temple and spilled over to the nearby Ashok Dham railway halt, a rumour about a live wire falling from an electric pole triggered panic among devotees, leading to the stampede.
-(with inputs from PIB)
