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NEWS : 58 die in stampedes in Hindu shrines
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To: ghen@netcom.com
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Subject: NEWS : 58 die in stampedes in Hindu shrines
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From: "P Tilak" <ptilak@IBM.COM>
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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 96 11:25:22 PDT
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Resent-Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 11:51:53 -0700 (MST)
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Resent-Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.90.960715115153.21485D@mercury.aichem.arizona.edu>
58 die in stampedes in Hindu shrines
BY KRISHNAN GURUSWAMY
Associated Press
NEW DELHI, India -- At least 58 pilgrims were killed today -- crushed or
impaled on bamboo stakes -- during stampedes at two overcrowded Hindu
shrines during a religious festival.
Thousands of people were pushing into a temple in the holy city of Ujjain
in Madhya Pradesh state when the crowd went out of control, the Press Trust
of India and United News of India news agencies reported.
Bamboo barricades designed to keep back pilgrims broke and 37 people were
killed and 40 injured, some when they were crushed and some when they fell
on the bamboo stakes, police told United News. Others slipped on a narrow
marble staircase leading to an underground idol of Shiva.
A second stampede broke out in the holy city of Hardwar, 125 miles north of
New Delhi, where some 1.5 million Hindus gathered for ritual bathing in the
Ganges River.
Eighteen women, two men and one child were killed as pilgrims pushed
through a narrow bridge, said the Press Trust, quoting local administrator
Rajinder Soni.
Overcrowding at Indian shrines often has led to tragedy. In 1992, a
stampede in the southern town of Kumbakonam during a religious holiday left
50 people dead.
The pilgrims had gathered today for the festival of Somavati Amavasya,
keyed to the new moon and especially relevant to devotees of Shiva, one of
Hinduism's principal deities.
Indian astrologers believe that Mars crosses through the zodiacal sign of
Gemini today and makes people vulnerable to problems, and some Hindus seek
Shiva's help to avoid difficulties, said K.N. Rao, a professor of astrology
at a New Delhi college.
Ujjain, 465 miles south of New Delhi, has special significance for
followers of Shiva and is one of the seven most sacred cities of Hinduism.
The town of Hardwar is also considered holy by Hindus and is inhabited by
hundreds of holy men. The Ganges River, which originates in the Himalayas,
begins its journey across the plains at Hardwar.
