35 Die in Indore Temple Stepwell Collapse
Thirty-five people were killed when the roof of a stepwell collapsed at a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.
In Sneh Nagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh there is a stepwell at the Beleshwar Mahadev temple. The temple is managed by a private trust. On 30th March 2023, Ram Navami, a havan was being performed on a platform of the temple. This platform was actually a concrete slab covering the stepwell. That means the floor of the platform was the roof of the stepwell. It wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of 30-40 people.
Suddenly at around 12.00 noon, the roof collapsed, plunging the devotees into the 40-feet-deep stepwell with water up to 9 feet. A rescue operation led by the Madhya Pradesh police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Emergency and Response Force (SDERF) and district administration is still underway. The process of dewatering was carried out to rescue people. Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja T said that 35 people have died in the incident while 14 people have been rescued so far. Rescue work has been going on for 18 hours. 1 person is missing. However, according to sources, some people including children are still missing.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a probe into the incident. While PM Modi tweeted, "Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families.” Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced ?5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased while ?50,000 to the injured. Further, an ex-gratia of ? 2 lakh from the PM National Relief Fund would be given to the families of the dead and ? 50,000 each to the injured people.
Questions are now being raised as to how did the administration allow construction of a slab atop an ancient well. The head priest of the temple said the roof was constructed without any concrete support by putting stone slabs and concrete by fitting iron rods. Sources have said the tragedy could have been averted had the Indore Municipal Corporation acted on the complaints filed by residents about encroachment on the park.
Residents also said the park was encroached first by building a water tank and then by building a temple on the stepwell. Another temple is being allegedly built close to this existing one by encroaching the same land, the complaint said. A notice was then issued to the temple trust by the Municipal Commissioner asking about the claims. The temple trust secretary replied denying any encroachment on the park. The trust called the municipal body's notice an interference in religious matters, which would hurt sentiments as the temple was 100 years old.
