A major accident was almost averted on Wednesday during Lathmar Holi in Barsana, Mathura. The huge crowd of devotees moving towards the Radharani temple suddenly went out of control, causing chaos and a stampede-like situation at the Bagh Mohalla barrier. The situation became so tense for some moments that the police and the local people had to come together to handle the situation.
Everything was going normally till noon, but as Lathmar Holi reached its peak, the pressure of devotees increased rapidly. The crowd stopped at the barrier suddenly became hasty to move forward and this haste worsened the situation. It was fortunate that a major accident was averted due to the vigilance of the police and youth.
How did the stampede like situation arise in Barsana?
The excitement of Lathmar Holi was at its peak around 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon. After the closure of the temple, the police had stopped the crowd going to Radharani temple from the old bus stand via Bagh Mohalla at the barrier. Meanwhile, Hurriyas of Barsana and Nandgaon also reached for darshan.
Due to the time taken by the Hurriyas to have darshan, the pressure of the crowd heading towards the temple continued to increase. The police had stopped the devotees from going in the direction of Sudama Chowk at the barrier near Sanjay Vakil from Bagh Mohalla.
Why did the need to open the barrier arise?
The pressure of the crowd became so much that the situation started going out of control. There was a competition among the devotees to reach the temple and a scuffle started. The policemen standing near the barrier tried to explain, but due to the pressure coming from behind, the people trapped ahead started panicking. Seeing the situation worsening, the police were forced to open the barrier. If the barrier was not opened, there was a possibility of it breaking and an even bigger stampede.
What happened as soon as the barrier opened?
As soon as the barrier was removed, the crowd ran towards the temple in a haphazard manner. During this, many devotees fell and some people even passed over them. However, immediately the policemen and local youth became active. People who fell in the crowd were pulled out and made to sit at a safe place. The situation was brought back to normal within a few minutes. The matter of relief is that no one died.
Have such situations arisen in Barsana before also?
According to local people, crowd pressure has already increased at this place during Holi and other festivals. Last year too, an accident was almost averted due to increased crowd pressure at the same barrier. Two years ago, during Laddumar Holi, there was a stampede during Rajbhog darshan. At that time the railing of the exit gate was broken and many male and female devotees fell under the pressure of the crowd. The health of many people had deteriorated.
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