5 Kanwariyas Killed, Many Injured During Religious Procession In Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: A tragic accident involving a religious procession in Western Uttar Pradesh led to five people being electrocuted to death and an equal number injured, officials said on Saturday.

The incident occurred when a group of Kanwariyas, regarded as devout followers of Lord Shiva, were returning with water from the Holy Ganges River during a pilgrimage in Haridwar Bhawanpur's Rali Chauhan village in Meerut district,.

It all happened as their vehicle, while entering the village accompanied by playing celebratory music, accidently came into contact with a dangerously low-hanging high-tension power line.

The high-voltage electric current charged through the vehicle and into the gathered crowd, knocking down the nearby devotees one after the other serially, before anyone was aware and could react.

Soon chaos ensued, with villagers calling up the power station to shut down the electricity supply in the area. But for many of the victims, it was already too late.

Among the pilgrims, one identified as Manish was declared dead at the scene itself. Four others have since perished from their injuries, while five more of the victims are being treated in various hospitals in the region. The condition of two of the victims is still reported to be critical.

The tragedy immediately set off a wave of anger among the villagers, who resorted to blocking a road in protest. They also demanded that immediate action should be taken against the electricity department officials for their negligence that is considered to have led to the fatal accident.

"The accident was a result of negligence in the preparation for the Kanwar Yatra," said a local resident, who was voicing the sentiment of many villagers. In the aftermath of the tragedy the demand for accountability and justice by the villagers underscored the tension.

The Kanwar Yatra is the largest such religious gathering in India, annually drawing an estimated 10 to 12 million participants from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Odisha, and Jharkhand. The pilgrims, who are known as Kanwariyas, dress up in saffron attire, often walking barefoot alongside vehicles on highways in a show of devotion.

In a similar incident in Tripura's Unakoti district last month, seven people, including two children, were tragically killed and 16 others injured during the ‘Jagganath rath yatra’, when a religious 'rath' or chariot touched an overhead high-voltage electric wire.

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