Six people have died and several injuries were reported at the Gangasagar in West Bengal.
Six people have died and several injuries were reported at the Gangasagar in West Bengal, a riverine island around 129 km from Kolkata, where pilgrims gather to take a dip in the water on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Initially reported as stampede by officials, the state government later clarified that the people died after falling ill amid a huge rush of pilgrims.
The District officials initially said two pilgrims died on the spot and three others, including a woman died in the hospital.
Later, Sundarbans Development Minister Manturam Pakhira told Press Trust of India that six elderly women died after falling ill during a rush to board a vessel at a jetty in South 24 Parganas district while returning from the Ganga Sagar fair.
The incident took place when there was a mad rush of pilgrims to board vessels at jetty number 5 to reach Kolkata, he said, adding, "The rush was because there would be no vessel for about eight hours due to low tide."
A few people fell unconscious while several took ill during the incident. They were taken to a nearby temporary healthcare centre where six people, all elderly women, died, the minister said.
"These women were very old. Most of them were above 75 years of age and were very weak. They died natural death. Doctors said that they died of heart attack," Mr Pakhira said.
State ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Arup Biswas also denied that it was a stampede.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the initial reports, had condoled the deaths in the stampede. "PM approved ex-gratia from PMNRF, of Rs 2 lakh for next of kin of those deceased & Rs. 50,000 for those injured in the stampede in WB," Prime Minister's office said in a tweet.
This year, over 1 million pilgrims had gathered to take a dip at the spot where the Ganga flows into the sea and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni ashram.
Yesterday, a fire had broken out at the grounds where the pilgrims converge. Four fire tenders took half-an-hour to control it. One person was injured in the incident.
The state government had taken a number of measures to avoid any untoward incident this year - deploying around 9,000 policemen and volunteers and setting up 165 CCTVs across the area.
A drone and 20 vessels -- including several from the Coast Guard -- were being used for surveillance.
This year, the state government said it was expecting around 15 lakh pilgrims.
The "Sagar Mela", as it is locally called, is possibly the largest religious gathering in Bengal. The Gangasagar island is considered auspicious by Hindus, who gather at time of the year to take a holy dip in the chilly Ganga waters. The devout believe that a dip can wash off the sins of a lifetime.
With inputs from PTI