Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Prior to the New Year celebrations, a large crowd at Puri’s Shree Jagannath Temple caused a stampede that resulted in the fainting of four students. The pupils came to seek Lord Jagannath’s blessings after traveling from a school in Kadabarang hamlet in the Bhadrak district.
Reports state that the incident happened as the students were going into the temple to perform darshan. There was a stampede close to the Nata Mandap area as a result of the overwhelming amount of devotees surrounding them.
Thankfully, they were saved in severe condition and sent in an ambulance right away to the Puri District Headquarter Hospital (DHH). Since then, their health has improved. Despite the Puri administration’s significant security precautions to control the crowd and provide a safe darshan, many were astonished and alarmed by the pandemonium and sheer volume of people.
