INDORE: As many as 35 people were killed on Thursday at a temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, when the stepwell's roof collapsed. The weight of a sizable crowd on Ram Navami was too much for the stepwell roof of the Beleshwar Mahadev temple.
"A total of 35 people passed away; 1 is still missing, and 14 have been saved. Following treatment, two individuals safely made their way home. Search efforts are under way to find those who have been reported missing,” informed Ilayaraja T., the Indore Collector.
The 18-hour rescue effort began at about 12:30 on Thursday and is still going, the official said. The temple is situated in Sneh Nagar, one of Indore's oldest residential neighbourhoods, and is run by a private trust. According to sources, the tragedy might have been prevented had the Indore Municipal Corporation responded to resident complaints.
The Beleshwar Mahadev temple trust received a copy of a municipality notice in April 2022 in response to complaints from locals who claim the temple was constructed on top of a stepwell in an encroached park. The trust told the municipal body that demolishing the well's cover would offend religious sensibilities, and as a result, the municipal body withdrew its request.
On Ram Navami, a havan was being performed on the concrete stepwell slab. As a result of the concrete slab's inability to support the weight of 30–40 people, worshippers fell down the 40-foot-deep stepwell.
Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are working on the rescue efforts. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, announced 5 lakh in compensation for the relatives of the deceased and 50,000 for those hurt in the unfortunate event.
To assess the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Mr. Chouhan.
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