- Three devotees injured near Nagchandreshwar Temple amid heavy Nag Panchami rush
- Temple administration denied reports of stampede or chaos at the shrine
- Over 6.19 lakh devotees visited the temple so far during this year's festival
At least three devotees were injured near the Nagchandreshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Monday amid a massive rush of pilgrims for Nag Panchami, even as the temple administration denied reports of stampede-like stituation.
The incident was reported as thousands of devotees gathered at the temple for darshan, which opens to the public only once a year on Nag Panchami.
According to news agency IANS, the situation arose amid heavy rush in a barricaded area opposite the Harsiddhi temple. The injured devotees were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
However, the temple administration denied reports of chaos and stampede-like situation at the shrine.
Temple Administrator Pratham Kaushik said "misleading reports" about chaos at the temple were being circulated on certain media and social media platforms.
"There was exceptionally large turnout of devotees as this year's festival coincided with the third Monday of Sawan. The claims about disorder at the shrine are misleading," he said, adding that 6.19 lakh devotees had visited the temple so far and all necessary arrangements were in place to ensure devotees' safety and facility for smooth darshan.
Meanwhile, one of the injured, Sagar told ANI that he was waiting in the queue for several hours before the incident occurred.
"I was in the queue at Mahakal Mandir for the darshan. After seven to eight hours, I reached Harsiddhi Chauraha. We stood there for two hours. The crowd was swelling and since it was time for the aarti, we were stopped there. Suddenly, the barricades were opened and a chaos broke out," he said.
A large number of pilgrims have gathered in Ujjain for darshan of Lord Mahakal and Lord Nagchandreshwar, leading to heavy crowding inside the Mahakal temple complex and on roads in the surrounding areas.
The Nagchandreshwar Temple, located on the third floor of the Mahakaleshwar Temple complex, opens to devotees only on Nag Panchami each year, attracting pilgrims from across the country.
Ahead of the festival, Divisional Commissioner Ashish Singh and Collector Roshan Kumar Singh reviewed the arrangements and directed officials to ensure adquate barricading, drinking water, sanitation, medical facilities and emergency response measures.
The district administration said personnel had been deployed and special arrangements made to regulate the movement of devotees amid the heavy rush.
With inputs from Agencies
