Why MP temple stampede is only an addition to the list of many

Stampedes in India’s temples during major festivals that have claimed thousands of lives and maimed many are nothing new. Sunday’s incident that killed at least 115 people and left over 100 injured is only the latest among such similar tragedies. The stampede happened near the Durga temple at Ratangarh in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district where a large number of devotees had gathered for Navratri festivities. Here is a compilation of the list of temple stampede tragedies in recent memory: (Courtesy: CNN-IBN) [caption id=“attachment_1170549” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] 19 February 2012: 6 dead, 30 injured during Mahashivratri fair at Bhavnath temple, Junagadh, Gujarat 8 November 2011: 22 dead in a temple near Ganga in Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh 14 January 2011: 106 devotees killed and more than 100 injured at Pulmedu in Idukki district, Kerala near Sabarimala 4 March 2010: 63 people killed and 12 injured at Ram Janaki temple in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh 21 December 2009: 10 dead & 12 injured at Shrinathji Haweli Temple near Rajkot, Gujarat 20 September 2008: 147 pilgrims killed in an early morning stampede outside the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur 3 August 2008: 145 killed and more than 400 injured at Naina Devi temple, Himachal Pradesh 26 January 2005: 350 killed and 200 injured at Mandher Devi temple in Satara, Maharashtra 27 August 2003: 40 dead and 125 devotees injured at the Kumbh Mela in Nashik, Maharashtra