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Of the ten concubines, one died on the spot, and the remaining nine were taken to hospitals in the area. (representative image/PTI)
The tragic incident angered the villagers, who organized a protest to demand immediate action against the Electricity Department for their negligence in the Yatra preparations.
Six Kunwar pilgrims were electrocuted and five others were injured during a religious procession when their car came into contact with a high-tension wire in Bhawanpur district of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday.
District Magistrate Dipak Meena said the rest of the injured were being treated.
The Kannaris, followers of Lord Shiva, were returning by water from the holy Ganges when the tragic incident occurred. The high voltage current knocked the worshipers down before they could even get a chance to react.
The situation turned chaotic when the villagers started calling the power station to shut off the electricity, but unfortunately, some people were already severely electrocuted.
One of the kunuriat, Manish, was declared dead on the spot, while nine others were taken to hospital. NDTV The report said. Of the nine, four died while being treated in hospital. The remaining five are still under hospital care. Reportedly, two of the pilgrims are in critical condition.
This incident enrages the villagers, who block a road alongside the kanwars, and stage a protest. They demanded justice, demanding that action be taken against the Electricity Department, whose negligence led to the tragic accident.
A local resident said that this was negligence in Kanwar Yatra’s preparations, according to reports.
Police said extra forces have been deployed to avoid any untoward incident.
Being one of the biggest religious events in the country, Kanwar Yatra witnesses a gathering of 10 to 12 million devotees every year from different parts of North India, such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh, among others. Pilgrims, dressed in saffron clothes, walk barefoot on highways to places of pilgrimage like Haridwar, Gangotri, Varanasi, etc.
In a similar incident on July 11, four Kanaria pilgrims were injured in Saharanpur in UP when an iron bar flag atop their van touched a live electrical wire. Four of them suffered severe burns from electrocution. However, after undergoing treatment in the hospital, all of them were taken to stable condition.
(with input from PTI)
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