Amidst mayhem, locals come to rescue

Minutes after the victims of the stampede at Naina Devi temple were rushed to the hospital of Anandpur Sahib...

Minutes after the victims of the stampede at Naina Devi temple were rushed to the hospital of Anandpur Sahib, local residents swung into action to give comfort to the injured and the distraught relatives of the dead.

While the locals provided a steady supply of tea, beverages and snacks, a langar was arranged by two gurudwaras, Anandgarh Sahib and Tatshree Kesgarh Sahib. The hospital staff also did their best to help those who were confronted with the task of looking for the bodies of their relatives, even as one Dr Manoj did his bit by purchasing carbon papers and sheets (used to prepare police and death reports) himself rather than asking the relatives to get them.

Even as the tragedy unfolded, residents of Anandpur Sahib rushed to Naina Devi temple and used the public address system to inform people about their loved ones, giving details about those who were injured and those who managed to escape unhurt. Local transporters and the two gurudwaras also rushed to the rescue by offering vehicles to bring the dead and the injured to the hospital, which had only two ambulances at its disposal.

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Smaller acts of kindness also made a big difference. Since most of the people affected by the mishap were not well off and did not carry mobile phones, Navdeep Sharma, a local resident who runs a stationary shop near the hospital, offered his assistance by allowing the relatives to make free calls from his mobile phone.

And then there were heroes, like Jagdeep Singh, 21, of Ludhiana who jumped into the crowd to save the life of Rajesh Sharma, who was caught in the stampede. “Had Jagdeep not pulled me out, I would have suffocated,” said a grateful Rajesh. Jagdeep also saved the life of another young man who had almost died of electric shock. “I immediately took off my turban and pulled him from the railing on which the electric wire had fallen. He had a narrow escape,” said Jagdeep.