Panaji: Fixing responsibility for the stampede at a temple festival in North Goa that killed six people, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made public the fact-finding committee report, which has held the district administration, police, temple committee, and crowd behavior responsible for the incident.
The stampede occurred on May 3 during the Shree Devi Lairai Festival at Shirgao village in North Goa, resulting in six deaths and at least one hundred injuries.
The Pramod Sawant-led government had appointed a fact-finding committee, led by Secretary (Revenue) Sandip Jacquies, which presented its report.
Making the report public, Sawant said that responsibility has been fixed on the district administration, district police, temple committee, and crowd behavior.
He mentioned that the police had already filed a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown persons in connection with the case.
He added that the state government would issue show-cause notices to the officers held responsible by the fact-finding committee.
Following the incident, the state government had transferred District Magistrate Sneha Gitte, Superintendent of Police (North) Akshat Kaushal, among others.
Speaking to reporters, the Chief Minister said that the incident occurred during the time when temple rituals were at their peak, and the crowd swelled.
He explained that the incident took place on a sloped pathway between the holy pond and homkund, where the Holy Fire is lit.
Sawant said that there was a lack of crowd control by the authorities, and the planning was also poor. He also mentioned that the behavior of “some dhonds (devotees)” was not proper.
The Chief Minister said that the temple committee did not provide the required cooperation to the district administration in making arrangements for the festival.
“The temple committee did not take any lead in crowd control,” he said.
As for the district administration, he said that the necessary enforcement and safety measures required for a festival of this scale were not implemented.
Sawant mentioned that there was no strategic deployment of police forces. “The coordination among the police was very poor. The police did not install the kind of watch towers that they should have,” he added.
Stating that the width of the lane leading to the temple was reduced due to the allocation of stalls, the Chief Minister said that the local village panchayat gave NOC for the stalls’ electricity connection without inspecting the spot.
Sawant said that the committee had made several recommendations, including immediate corrective measures such as a crowd management plan for festivals of this scale.
“The incident was an eye-opener for us. In the future, we will make a list of such festivals, and the crowd management plan will be implemented in advance,” Sawant said.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will also be established after taking temple committees into confidence for different festivals.
