The stampede at Gandhi maidan in Patna added to India's notoriety for deaths due to such accidents, when sudden, uncontrollable crowds surge out of control
Stampedes at temples and other religious places in India have claimed more than a thousand lives in the last 10 years in the country. Here is a look at some of the deadliest stampede to have happened in India:
1) Datia stampede, October 2013
On 13 October 2013, during Navratri, a stampede broke out on a bridge near the RatangarhMataTemple in Datia district, Madhya Pradesh, India, killing 115 people and injuring more than 110.
2) Junagadh stampede, February 2012
Six lives were lost and 30 were left injured as a stampede took place during the Mahashivratri fair at Bhavnath temple in Junagadh in Gujarat. Nine lakh people were believed to have gathered on February 19, 2012 for the annual five-day fair.
3) Sabarimala stampede, January 2011
In one of the worst stampedes in India, 106 devotees were crushed to death and more than 100 were injured on January 14, 2011.
4) Pratapgarh stampede, March 2010
63 people were killed and over 100 injured on March 4, 2010 as a stampede took place at RamJankiTemple in Uttar Pradesh. The incident is believed to have occurred as an unfinished gate of the temple fell, creating panic among the devotees gathered to collect free food and clothes on the death anniversary of wife of Kripalu Maharaj.
5) Rajasthan temple stampede, September 2008
A tragic accident in the Chamunda Devi temple of Rajasthan claimed the lives of 120 pilgrims, leaving 200 injured in September, 2008. The stampede took place during the Navaratra festival in the Jodhpur city.
6) Orissa stampede, July 2008
Six lives were lost and 12 were injured on the auspicious day of Jagannath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and His siblings in Puri in July, 2008.
7) Himachal stampede, August 2006
A horrible stampede slaughtered 160 devotees and more than 400 were injured in the famous Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh on August 3, 2006 due to a shelter collapse.
8) Maharashtra stampede, January 2005
During a religious fair at Mandher Devi temple in Satara district of Maharashtra, a stampede killed 350 people and injured 200 devotees on January 26, 2005.
9) Nashik stampede, August 2003
A stampede broke out at the Kumbh Mela at Nashik on August 27, 2003 near the holy Godavari river. The accident claimed 40 lives and injured 125 devotees who had come for holy bath during the Kumbh Mela.
10) Kumbh Mela stampede, February 1954
Over 800 people were killed and 100 injured in a stampede at the Mahakumbh Mela in 1954. Considering that it was the first Kumbh Mela after the Independence, many leading politicians had visited the city during the event, which goes for over 40 days. What compounded the failure of crowd control measures, over 5 millions pilgrims visit Allahabad during the festival, was not just the presence of large number of politicians.
