Indore temple tragedy: Toll rises to 36

The death toll in Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 36 on Friday with the recovery of one more victim's body in the afternoon, an official said.

The roof of a 'bawdi' (stepwell) collapsed during a havan', a fire ritual, on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Shri Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Indore's Patel Nagar area in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.

"Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment. The search operation to trace persons reported missing is underway," ANI quoted Indore Collector as saying.

In the morning, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city, where the tragedy occurred on Thursday. Near the temple, a group of locals shouted ''Murdabad'' slogans in protest when Chouhan was on way to console the victims' families.

Talking to reporters, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma said, ''The body of one person who had gone missing after the incident has been recovered from the 'bawdi'.

With this, the bodies of 36 people have been recovered from the water body so far.'' Sixteen people, who were injured in the accident, have been admitted to a hospital, while two other persons have been sent home after first aid, he said.

According to Sharma, the bodies of all those who were reported missing by the family members have been recovered. ''But we are not calling off the search operation right away. We will remove the entire silt from the stepwell so that there is no doubt left,'' he added.

Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient stepwell. According to reports, the stepwell was at least 50 years old and that the temple next to it was an old structure which was later renovated to accommodate the step-well area by simply covering it.

The head priest of the temple Laxminarayan Sharma said the roof was constructed without any concrete support by putting stone slabs and concrete by fitting iron rods.

The temple was constructed by laying a slab over the bawdi in a covered campus, Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra said. A probe has been ordered into the matter, particularly to find out how the temple was allowed to be constructed over a bawdi, Mishra said.

Nearly 30-35 devotees fell into the well after the accident at the temple, said Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar citing eyewitness accounts. Earlier, a witness had put the number at nearly 25.

An eyewitness said that during the religious programme, there was a huge crowd of devotees on the roof of the bawdi in the temple. As the structure could not bear the load of so many people, it caved in, he said.

After the accident, people gathered around the temple looking for their family members who were present on the premises at the time of the tragedy.

Kantibhai Patel, president of Patel Nagar Residents Association, said no ambulance reached the spot for an hour even after authorities were alerted about the accident. Officials have identified the deceased persons as Lakshmi Patel (70), Bharti Kukreja (58), Jaivanti Khhobchandani (84), Daksha Patel (60), Madhu Bhammani (48), Manisha Motwani (40), Ganga Patel (58), Kanak Patel (32), Pushpa Patel (49), Bhumika Khanchandani (31) and Indra Kumar Harwani (53).

CM Chouhan also spoke to the Indore collector and police commissioner over the phone and directed them to speed up the rescue operation, said an official. Efforts are on with full might to rescue the trapped people, he added.

Condolences

President Draupadi Murmu and leaders across the political spectrum expressed their condolences over the incident.

Expressing anguish soon after the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan Ji and took an update on the situation. The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families."

The prime minister also announced an ex-gratia from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the kin of the Indore accident victims, said a press release by Prime Minister's Office on Thursday. A tweet on the official handle of the Prime Minister's Office read; "An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh (each) from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore today. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000 (each): PM."