Chaos erupts near Gundicha Temple route as devotees rush for darshan during Pahandi ritual
Puri (Odisha): A stampede broke out during the Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri on Thursday, claiming one life and injuring more than 100 devotees. The incident occurred around 5 pm during the Pahandi ritual, when the crowd surged forward suddenly to catch a glimpse of Lord Jagannath near the chariots.
Volunteers stationed along the yatra route were trying to push devotees back when people began shoving one another, triggering the stampede. Witnesses said dozens fell on top of each other amid the chaos.
Heavy rain continued to lash Puri even as more than 1 million devotees thronged the route. The chariots are travelling from the main temple to the Gundicha Temple, located 3 km away.
This is not the first such tragedy at the festival. On July 18, 2015, during the Nabakalebara Rath Yatra held after nearly 19 years , a sudden crowd surge near Marichikote Chowk on Grand Road, while Lord Balabhadra’s chariot was being pulled, caused two women to die of suffocation, with six others injured.
More recently, on June 29, 2025, thousands gathered at the Sardhabali area outside Gundicha Temple on the third day of the yatra when the crowd pushed forward together, leading to a stampede that killed three devotees and injured over 50. Several officials faced disciplinary action afterward.
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