Assam: 5 dead in Shivratri tragedy at Cachar’s Bhuban Hill

Silchar: At least five people were killed at various locations on Bhubaneswar hill, a 17th-century Shiva shrine bordering the Manipur border in Assam’s Cachar district, when thousands of people were flocking to celebrate Shivratrion March 1.

Bhuvan Mela is held every year on the occasion of Shivratri on Bhuban hill. Thousands of people from all over the state visit the historic Shiva Temple located on a hilltop about 50 km from the city of Silchar.

According to locals, Shiva Chaturdashi on Bhuvan hill returned to her usual festive mood after two years of epidemic. And despite the strict security arrangements and other facilities provided by the Cachar administration to protect the pilgrims, the tragedy was averted.

On Tuesday morning, thousands of devotees set out to climb Bhuban hill via two roads – Amraghat Krishnapur and Matinagar. According to official estimates, about 400,000 pilgrims are expected to visit the mountain shrine in two days. Many videos appearing on social media show a stampede-like situation in the Hathubhanga area of   the hill.

The deceased have been identified as Anand Ghatowar (35), Sanjay Das (37), Vikram Pal (31), N Kurmi (52) and S Chakraborty (55), all residents of Silchar and surrounding areas. Are Police said that while two bodies were recovered on the same day, three more bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

A senior police official said the devotees arrived suddenly but denied any involvement in the stampede. The Kachhar administration said at least 80,000 people had been rescued from the hill in the Hathubhanga  area by Aapda -Mitra volunteers and DDMA personnel.

“There was no stampede. The road was very steep and people got stuck there. They were brought down shortly after,” said Subrata Sen, Additional Superintendent of Police, Cachar .

The mud administration, however, removed itself from the cause of death, claiming that there was no negligence in terms of safety and security measures.

A total of five bodies have been recovered from Bhubaneswar hill and none of them died due to the mob at Hatu Bhanga turn. A statement from the Cachar administration said that all the five were men.

The statement added that the post-mortem report of V. Paul and A. Ghatowar revealed that the cause of death was natural and that he had suffered a stroke.

1. Das, who was with his family, appears to be suffering from an illness. It appears that S. Chakraborty slipped on his way to the temple, “the administration said in a statement.

Kirti Jalli visited Bhuvan Hill last week before the festival and reviewed the arrangements. A committee was also formed to oversee the fair.

“We were informed by the administration that people were getting stuck on the hill while climbing. We reached the spot and helped the people to go down. The assistant commissioner also helped us. After that anyone could use this road While doing so, they were not allowed to climb the hill, ”said Biprojit Deb, field officer of APDA Mitra.

However, the police department said that decorations were maintained in the area by stopping alcohol during this year’s festival.

“We carried out large-scale raids and destroyed large quantities of counterfeit liquor. All pilgrims were checked and the liquor confiscated. For the first time during the Mahashivratri  festival in Bhubaneswar, such strict surveillance was carried out.” An official said.

Every year, about 2.5 lakh people visit Bhuban’s shrine on the occasion of Mahashivaratri. The Assam government has now started construction of an all-weather road connecting the hill. Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has recently announced an amount of Rs 100 million for infrastructure development in the region.