One killed, several including children injured in stampede during Makar Mela rush in Odisha's Cuttack

Cuttack, Jan 14: At least one person was killed and 20 others including children were injured, four of them seriously, in a stampede in Odisha's Cuttack district on Saturday, police said.

The incident took place as a large number of people congregated on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge on the occasion of Makar Mela, a police officer said.

Badamba-Narsinghpur MLA and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra confirmed that one woman, identified as 45-year-old Anjana Swain, died in the incident, while four seriously injured people were admitted to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack city.

Mishra said other injured persons were admitted to a community health centre (CHC) in Badamba.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased. ''The injured people will get free treatment and I wish their speedy recovery,'' Patnaik said in a statement.

Athagarh Sub-collector Hemanta Kumar Swain said the incident took place due to a sudden increase in the number of devotees, including women and children, in the afternoon to visit a fair organised on the occasion and also to pay obeisance to Lord Singhanath.

The district administration said the congregation was massive as people were visiting the temple after a gap of two years due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Devotees from Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, Angul, Dhenkanal, Boudh and Nayagarh districts had come to the temple in large numbers, the sub-collector said.