At least ten devotees were injured due to overcrowding while climbing the hill at Chandranath Dham in Sitakunda during the Shiv Chaturdashi Festival.
The injured were identified as Mridul Kanti Dey, Arpan Kanti Dey, Nani Gopal, Arnab Saha, Anik, Savitri, Sushant Raj, Shilpi Sen, Chayanika Dev, and Kamal Karmakar.
On Sunday morning, When the injured arrived at the Upazila Health Complex, they were given first aid and discharged as their injuries were minor. In addition, more than 3,000 pilgrims with various problems were treated at free medical service camps organized by the upazila health complex and several voluntary groups throughout the fair, according to Sitakunda upazila Health Officer Nur Uddin Rashed.
He added: “From early morning till 11:30 am, 10 people were treated at the Upazila Health Complex. Nonetheless, none of them suffered significant injuries. All have been released after receiving first aid.
Dhaka Tribune“A free medical care camp has been arranged on behalf of our upazila health complex at the fair. This camp provides free medical care to hundreds of thousands of individuals each year,” he continued.
Till Sunday afternoon, more than 2,100 individuals had received free medical care. The majority of them have typical issues. Several people have swollen legs, headaches, and gastric difficulties, just as many people are tired of climbing the mountain.
Meanwhile, a rumour was spread that three devotees died when the stairs collapsed on Saturday night.
However, Ujjal Majumder Shifan, executive member of the fair committee denied the matter and said: “The entire area is covered by video surveillance. We found nothing on CCTV footage. Unfortunately, some persons were injured during the hiking and were taken to the doctor at the upazila health complex.”
The volunteer organizations offering free medical care at the fair had served over 1,000 persons as of Sunday afternoon, he added.
The Shiva Chaturdashi fair, like it does every year, began on Friday at Chandranath Hill in Sitakunda.
Dhaka TribuneEvery year, the fair is held at Chandranath Dham on the peak of a hill 1,200 feet above sea level that lasts three days, but this year it will last four days due to Tithi. As a result, the three-hundred-year-old fair will continue till Monday.
The fair is planned around the gathering of thousands of devotees focused on offering water on Shiva's head on Shiva Chaturdashi Tithi. Every year, between 1.5 to 2 million people attend the event. From Upazila Sadar to Chandranath Hill, this fair is held. The fair's organizers say that this is the most significant gathering of Sanatan religious followers in the country.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of Shiv Chaturdashi fair, railway authorities have formulated plans to halt trains for two minutes at Sitakund station, with the exception of two non-stop trains, said Moniruzzaman, assistant divisional transport officer of Bangladesh Railways.