Stampede-like situation in Shivneri Fort during Shiv Jayanti celebrations, six people injured

On the occasion of Shiv Jayanti in Maharashtra, a stampede-like situation occurred in Shivneri Fort. This fort is the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. That’s why a grand event is organized here every year. This time too, people had started arriving at the fort located in Junnar taluka of Pune district since late night. Thousands of devotees reached the fort, making it difficult to control the crowd. During this, a sudden scuffle and stampede like situation occurred, in which at least six people were injured.

There was not enough police force present

During the incident, devotees from different parts of Maharashtra, youth groups and many social organizations reached the fort carrying Shiv Jyoti. Even before the main ceremony started, the fort complex was completely filled. The crowd was continuously increasing, while there were not enough police forces and arrangements. A huge crowd of people gathered on the narrow roads and entrances, making the situation more serious.

The situation was especially bad around Hathi Darwaja and Ganesh Darwaja. Due to the narrowness of these roads, the movement of people was affected and suddenly people tried to move forward causing chaos. During this, many people fell and some got injured. Women and children are also said to be included among the injured. All the injured were immediately taken to the government hospital in Junnar, where they are being treated. It is a matter of relief that no one died in this incident.

Senior leaders and officials likely to attend the ceremony

After the incident, the police and administration immediately deployed additional forces to handle the situation and controlled the crowd. After this the situation in the fort became normal. Every year the main program of Shiv Jayanti is organized in the presence of the Chief Minister and this time too the main function is proposed at 9 am, in which senior leaders and officials of the state are likely to attend.

After this incident, questions have started being raised regarding the preparations and crowd management of the administration. Every year a large number of people reach Shivneri Fort on Shiv Jayanti, hence experts and local people have demanded better security arrangements, adequate police force and better planning of entry and exit. It is expected from the administration that concrete steps should be taken to prevent such incidents in future, so that the safety of the devotees can be ensured.