Ujjain's Famous Mahakal Temple Witnesses Stampede-Like Situation On First Day Of Sawan

After a gap of more than two and half months, the temple opened to the public after it remained closed due to second wave of coronavirus cases.

Screenshot of the video posted on Twitter

Ujjain: On the first day of Sawan festivities at the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain witnessed a stampede-like situation on Monday after thousands of devotees thronged to the shrine amid VIP visits.

In a bid to catch the glance of the deity inside the temple, a huge crowd gathered where people were pushing each other to enter the historicial temple. The devotees which gathered in huge numbers broke the security cordon and Covid-19 protocols.

Devotees, including children and women who were at the shrine, are reportedly injured in the incident. The crowd went out of control after visits some VIPs, including Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan interrupted the smooth flow of devotees.

In the video, devotees who were lined up in a queue can be seen overpowering the temple authorities and making way inside the temple.  

The Mahakaleshwar temple is mostly revered because it is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of lord Siva. The temple reopened last month, but the entry has been allowed only for those who have got at least one dose of Covid vaccine or provided they have a negative RT-PCR test report issued 48 hours prior to the visit.

After a gap of more than two and half months, the temple opened to the public after it remained closed due to second wave of coronavirus cases.

The temple, situated about 175 km from the state capital Bhopal, is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The temple has allowed 3,500 devotees to enter the temple between 6 am and 8 pm in a day. There are seven time slots of two hours each and 500 people are allowed to enter the temple in each slot.

The temple authorities are going to work on the revised plan next Monday and esnure Covid protocol. Since it is difficult to follow Covid protocol in the kind of free-for-all as conducted on Monday, it led to too many people entering the temple at one go.