Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: The Shree Lairai Temple committee failed to implement directives issued by Goa Police to install CCTV cameras and ensure proper barricading ahead of the annual zatra, during which six people lost their lives in a stampede, an official said on Monday.
Quoting the minutes of a meeting held just days before the festival, the official said the temple authorities had been instructed to make necessary security arrangements, including surveillance and crowd control measures.
Six devotees were killed and over 70 others injured in the early hours of Saturday during a stampede at the temple premises in Shirgao village, North Goa.
According to the official, a meeting was held on April 30 between police, district officials, and the temple committee to prepare for the large influx of devotees expected at the zatra. The temple committee was specifically asked to install CCTV cameras at entry and exit points, around the temple and “Homkhand” (sacred fire area), and to set up a CCTV control room. Police personnel were to be provided for coordination, as per the meeting’s minutes.
The committee was also requested to make proper barricading arrangements to manage queues and assist police in crowd control, the official added.
The meeting was attended by then Superintendent of Police (North) Akshat Kaushal, then Deputy Superintendent of Police (Bicholim) Jivba Dalvi, Deputy Collector (Bicholim) Bhimnath Khorjuvekar, Temple Committee President Dinanath Gaonkar, and other officials.
When contacted, temple committee president Dinanath Gaonkar said there was insufficient time to execute the directives.
“You require at least 10 to 15 days to install these cameras. The meeting was held only a couple of days before the festival,” Gaonkar said.
Regarding barricading, Gaonkar said the committee refrained from using it as devotees had suffered injuries in previous years due to such arrangements.
The temple committee has since appeared before the fact-finding committee set up to investigate the stampede and has submitted relevant details, he added.
