Bhopal/Indore, March 30
Eleven persons died after the roof of a ‘bawdi’ (well) collapsed during a havan’, a fire ritual, on the occasion of Ram Navami at a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city on Thursday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
Earlier, Indore Collector Illaiyaraja T had given the death toll as 12.
Ten women and a man died in the accident, state home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal. It is feared that a few kids are also missing and a search is on to trace them by pumping out the bawdi’s water, Mishra said.
Chouhan told reporters in the state capital that 11 persons have died in the bawdi collapse tragedy at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore’s Patel Nagar. The CM said he has ordered a probe into the incident.
According to Chouhan, 19 persons were rescued and taken to the hospital but one of them succumbed to his injuries.
The chief minister has also announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for every injured person.
Expressing anguish soon after the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted, “Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan Ji and took an update on the situation. The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families.” The temple was constructed by laying a slab over the bawdi in a covered campus, home minister Mishra said. A probe has been ordered into the matter, particularly to find out how the temple was allowed to be constructed over a bawdi, Mishra said.
