{"id":2345,"date":"2026-07-16T20:34:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=2345"},"modified":"2026-07-16T20:34:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:34:53","slug":"rath-yatra-crowd-surge-in-puri-leaves-2-dead-78-injured-bhubaneswar-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=2345","title":{"rendered":"Rath Yatra crowd surge in Puri leaves 2 dead, 78 injured | Bhubaneswar News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132445142,imgsize-576263,width-400,height-225,resizemode-75\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg\" alt=\"Rath Yatra crowd surge in Puri leaves 2 dead, 78 injured\" title=\"Devotees throng Grand Road in Puri on the occasion of Rath Yatra\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Devotees throng Grand Road in Puri on the occasion of Rath Yatra\">Devotees throng Grand Road in Puri on the occasion of Rath Yatra<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Puri<\/span><span class=\"strong\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">:<\/span> At least two people died and 78 others were hospitalised as a sea of devotees jostled for space amid blinding rain during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri on Thursday, forcing authorities to suspend the annual chariot-pulling ceremony for the night.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Hospital officials said Anil Das of Cuttack and another devotee, identified by Puri district hospital as Surya Prakash Rao from Andhra Pradesh, could not be saved, despite best efforts.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>At least 400 people fainted during the yatra that saw nearly 9 lakh people converge at the temple city from various states and abroad for the nine-day festival.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>Witnesses said devotees jumped over one another to catch a glimpse of Lord Jagannath\u2019s idol, which was being ceremonially carried from the shrine to the chariot around 1 pm at Marchikota Chowk, leaving many injured.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>Ambulances were seen ferrying in many of the injured to emergency wards from late afternoon.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>\u201cWe received at least 19 devotees, including men, women and children, with leg and knee injuries. Two of them could not be saved. We have admitted 78, while the rest were discharged after first aid,\u201d a hospital official said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>Police said the crowd surges were at different points along the Grand Road before the chariot\u2011pulling began.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>This year, the govt adopted several crowd control measures following the death of three devotees in a stampede outside the Gundicha temple on the third day of last year\u2019s Rath Yatra.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>The chief minister\u2019s office (CMO) said there was no stampede. \u201cThere was no incident of stampede or any systemic breakdown in crowd management. The overall conduct of the festival remained peaceful, orderly and well managed.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>The govt attributed one of the two deaths reported during the festival to a cardiac arrest, while the cause of the other is being ascertained. <!-- -->According to the statement, seven persons in a group fell ill during the festival and were immediately evacuated by deployed personnel and shifted to hospitals.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/>\u201cAmong them, a man aged over 60 years died, and the exact cause of his death is being determined by the authorities. In a separate and unrelated incident, a devotee aged over 35 years suffered a cardiac arrest and died despite receiving immediate medical attention,\u201d the statement said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>The govt said an estimated 8-9 lakh devotees attended the Rath Yatra. Given the unprecedented turnout and continuous rainfall, several cases of fatigue, dehydration, suffocation and other minor health-related ailments were reported during the day.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/>The opposition BJD tore into the govt for the incident. \u201cThis was not merely a mishap; it reflects a grave failure of the system. The govt must take responsibility and provide answers,\u201d the BJD said in a statement, while party president and former chief minister <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/naveen-patnaik\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Naveen Patnaik<\/a> expressed grief over the tragedy and demanded Rs 20 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Early in the day, lakhs thronged the Grand Road braving heavy showers, although police estimated the turnout was down compared to last year\u2019s 10\u2011lakh gathering. \u201cThe chariot\u2011pulling was delayed by over an hour, beginning at 5.10 pm instead of the scheduled 4 pm. The exercise was later suspended for the night and will resume Friday morning,\u201d a govt source and witnesses said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/>While the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra halted at Market Chowk and Marchikota Chowk, Lord Jagannath\u2019s chariot moved only a few steps before stopping. <!-- -->\u201cThe pahandi ritual of Lord Jagannath was delayed, which caused subsequent delays in chariot pulling,\u201d law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan explained.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>Discontent also surfaced among devotees after the iconic <span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">tahia<\/span> (floral headgear) of Lord Jagannath broke during the pahandi procession.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"48\"\/>Yet the fervour remained undiminished. The Grand Road reverberated with chants of \u2018<span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Haribol<\/span> \u2018 and \u2018<span class=\"em\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">Jai Jagannath\u2019<\/span> as devotees, including governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, joined in to pull the sacred ropes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/>\u201cWitnessing Lord Jagannath\u2019s emergence from the temple onto the chariot was an overwhelmingly spiritual moment. Tears of joy rolled down my eyes,\u201d said Shravani Maurya, a devotee from Lucknow.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/>President <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/droupadi-murmu\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Droupadi Murmu<\/a> and Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings on the occasion. \u201cI extend my heartfelt greetings to devotees of Lord Jagannath across the country and abroad,\u201d Murmu wrote on X.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"61\"\/>Modi added: \u201cOn the sacred occasion of Mahaprabhu Jagannath\u2019s Rath Yatra, may His blessings always remain upon all of us and infuse new energy into the lives of our countrymen.\u201d<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/bhubaneswar\/rath-yatra-crowd-surge-in-puri-leaves-2-dead-78-injured\/articleshow\/132445143.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Devotees throng Grand Road in Puri on the occasion of Rath Yatra Puri: At least two people died and 78 others were hospitalised as a sea of devotees jostled for space amid blinding rain during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri on Thursday, forcing authorities to suspend the annual chariot-pulling ceremony for the night.Hospital officials [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6fc4a48d-e0c7-4151-8329-8e51094e5b76_dsc_6931jpg.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Devotees throng Grand Road in Puri on the occasion of Rath Yatra Puri: At least two people died and 78 others were hospitalised as a sea of devotees jostled for space amid blinding rain during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri on Thursday, forcing authorities to suspend the annual chariot-pulling ceremony for the night.Hospital officials [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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