PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Ganesh Godiyal has said that the State government should order an inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the High Court to investigate the causes of the Mansa Devi temple stampede in Haridwar which resulted in death of eight devotees.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan here on Tuesday, Godiyal claimed that the stampede could have been averted by better security arrangements. He said that it has come to his notice that the stampede occurred when some skirmish occurred during the Darshan. Godiyal said that a false narrative of spread of electric current on the pathway is being spread.
He said that the magisterial inquiry ordered by the government will not be able to bring the real truth. “Ardh Kumbh is slated to be held in Haridwar in 2027 and next year Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra will also be held. Both these events will be held on a massive scale. If the government has failed in managing a small crowd in Mansa Devi then how will it handle Ardh Kumbh and Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Yatra,’’ he questioned.
Taking a dig at the adoption plan of government schools, Godiyal said that the decision shows that the State government considers the government schools as orphan. He said the Member of Parliaments (MP) too had adopted some villages but nothing was done in them. The villagers of the adopted villages are eager to get dissociated with the MPs, he claimed.
Godiyal said that the government should prepare a transparent system of adoption of schools by the industrial houses so that it does not create another window of corruption in the Education department.
On Panchayat elections, the Congress leader said that as part of a conspiracy, the reservation status of the presidents of district Panchayat has not been declared yet. He said that the reservation status of the district Panchayat presidents should be announced before declaration of results of Panchayat elections.
