They were there to participate at the burning of effigies of Ravana at dusk, part of the Dusshera festival, marking the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, and reacted running uncontrolled when they heard a rumor that a live electric wire had fallen on the public ground. “There was a rush towards the exit gate that several women and children were run over in the frenzy,” Manish Kumar Verma, District Magistrate of Patna, said to the media. Each festival in India is marked with a deep philosophical implication. Dussehra symbolizes the triumph of warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. Thus, it is a celebration of victory of good over evil. It is a tenth day major Indian festival celebrated throughout the country with great enthusiasm and energy. In burning the effigies the people are asked to burn the evil within them.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed “shock and grief” over the deaths and injuries in the stampede incident. This is said to be the second such tragedy in less than a year on a Hindu festival.
