A day after a devotee was killed and several others were injured in a crowd surge during Lord Jagannath’s Bahuda Yatra in Puri, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a scathing attack on the BJP government, asking, “After how many more accidents will the government wake up?”
File Photo: IANS
A day after a devotee was killed and several others were injured in a crowd surge during Lord Jagannath’s Bahuda Yatra in Puri, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a scathing attack on the BJP government, asking, “After how many more accidents will the government wake up?”
Expressing grief over the tragedy in a post on X on Saturday, Patnaik said he was “deeply saddened and heartbroken” by the devotee’s death and extended his condolences to the bereaved family. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.
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Questioning why such incidents continued to recur during the annual Rath Yatra, the BJD chief alleged that the government had failed to learn from past tragedies. He accused the administration of functioning in a “carefree manner” and said it was not attaching adequate importance to ensuring the safe conduct of Lord Jagannath’s nine-day annual festival.
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Patnaik alleged that repeated lapses had not only claimed lives but also tarnished Odisha’s image. Instead of putting in place lasting corrective measures, the government was relying on ad hoc arrangements, he said.
“After how many more accidents will the government wake up?” Patnaik asked, adding that the recurrence of such incidents year after year reflected the administration’s failure to draw lessons from earlier tragedies.
He urged the government to make special arrangements for the remaining Rath Yatra rituals, including Suna Besha and Niladri Bije, to ensure they are conducted smoothly and that devotees visiting Puri for Lord Jagannath’s darshan can do so safely.
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