Many people lost their lives in a horrific accident on Ram Navami in Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh. Army personnel have recovered 23 more bodies till Friday morning from the Bawdi (big well) of the temple. The death toll has increased to 36. The process of searching for the bodies of many missing people is still going on. Meanwhile, a claim has also surfaced, ‘The stepwell was hollowed out by rats, due to which this accident took place!’

A major accident took place on Thursday afternoon at Beleshwar Jhulelal Mahadev Temple located in Sneh Nagar, Indore. More than 50 devotees engaged in the program of worship, havan and Kanyabhoj organized on the occasion of Ramnavami were trapped in a 40-feet deep stepwell after the roof of the stepwell of the temple caved in.

The local administration had taken out 20 people alive while starting relief and rescue operations. Whereas till evening 11 dead bodies were removed from the stepwell. SDRF, NDRF and Army were called after difficulties faced in the relief and rescue operations.

The rescue operation gained momentum after the army took over the front late in the evening. With the speedy work of draining the water of the stepwell and the quickness of the army personnel, the process of getting the dead bodies also got faster. Dead bodies were found one after the other.

Why didn’t the administration wake up on time?

It is alleged that the expansion work of the 60-year-old small temple was going on for a long time. The people who accused the government land adjacent to the temple premises of illegal construction and encroachment also claimed to have made all the complaints in time. In his written complaints, he alerted the administration that illegal constructions can prove to be fatal. The complainants also allege that despite repeated warnings, the responsible officers did not take action.

The big question is that if complaints were being made in time then why didn’t the local administration take action?

Why was wrong data given to the Chief Minister?

The video statement of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan came shortly after the accident that took place at around 12 noon on Thursday. He had said, ‘They are taking moment-to-moment information from the Indore administration. He has given instructions for relief and rescue.

The Chief Minister had said in his statement, ‘A total of 19 people have got preliminary information about falling in the stepwell. Of these, 10 have been taken out. The work of evacuating the rest is going on at a fast pace. There is no casualty.

The question is being raised that how did the local administration and officers give the 19 figure? In fact, the eyewitnesses of the accident were repeatedly claiming that the terrace of the stepwell was overcrowded. More than 50 people have become victims of the accident, but the administration kept on making contrary claims.

During the commotion after the accident, people who came to find their loved ones had repeatedly termed the efforts of the local administration as insufficient. Despite this, no step was taken to help the army. The army was called in late in the evening, but by then it was too late. The stepwell had become a graveyard. Even now, local residents are complaining about the disappearance of many of their people. The army staff is searching for the missing people in the mud of the well.

In 800 square feet, the plaster took life!

Initial investigation has revealed that the 800 square feet area of ​​the 200-year-old stepwell was packed with sand, floors and ballast by inserting four iron girders by the then officials of the temple trust. After this work, tiles were installed from above.

All the programs in the temple, especially Havan-worship, were conducted sitting on the terrace of the stepwell. On Thursday, Havan-Pujan was being done sitting on this terrace. Due to the heavy pressure, the roof caved in.