Indore well collapse: Ram Navami celebration turns into tragedy

A local resident also alleged that rescue teams took more than an hour to reach the spot.An Army team from nearby Mhow has been called in for helping with rescue opeations, said District Magistrate Dr Ilaiyaraaja T.The temple, about 40 years old, was constructed after the well which stood on the spot was covered by a concrete slab.

Ram Navami celebrations at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in the city turned into tragedy when the slab constructed over an ancient `bawdi' or well suddenly caved in.

Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient well. A local resident also alleged that rescue teams took more than an hour to reach the spot.

An Army team from nearby Mhow has been called in for helping with rescue opeations, said District Magistrate Dr Ilaiyaraaja T.

The temple, about 40 years old, was constructed after the well which stood on the spot was covered by a concrete slab. The slab, thus, became the temple's floor. The chants of `havan' (fire ritual) and puja gave way to screams and frenzy as devotees standing on the slab fell into water. At least 11 people including 10 women died in the incident. Amit Sachdev, who was present at the spot, told PTI, ''One of my female relatives was at the temple when the incident took place. The temple was built over the `bawdi'. There were a lot of people on the slab, and havan-puja was being done there when it collapsed. Everyone fell into the well full of water." The temple is situated in Patel Nagar, a locality with a sizable Sindhi- and Gujarati-speaking population, and as per locals, many of the victims belonged to these communities.

As news of the incident spread, a large number of people rushed to the temple to see if their family members attending the Ram Navami celebration were safe.

Every time the rescue team pulled out a person from the well and carried him or her to a waiting ambulance, people would rush to check who the victim was.

Kantibhai Patel, president of the Patel Nagar Residents Association, was among the first to reach the spot.

"As soon as I learnt about the accident, I called the administration and informed them. But even after an hour ambulances and rescue teams had not arrived," he claimed.

Residents of Patel Nagar tried to rescue those who had fallen into water, but they did not have necessary equipment, locals said. The district magistrate said a magisterial probe will be conducted into the incident. The administration will also carry out a survey of places where such incidents could happen and take precautionary measures, he said.

Congress MP and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh visited the spot.

''How did the concrete slab of the temple come to be laid on top of the well and which officers gave permission for it -- this should be thoroughly probed,'' he said.

A civic official said that in response to a notice by Indore Municipal Corporation on April 24, 2022, Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Trust had undertaken to remove the slab constructed over the well, but it did not abide by the undertaking.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)