New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed deep grief and sorrow over the tragedy during the Chhat Puja celebrations in Patna on Monday evening.
At least 14 persons, most of them women and children, were killed and scores of others injured as a makeshift bridge caved in triggering a stampede during Chhat Puja at Adalatganj ghat on the bank of river Ganges.
"This shocking incident took place after a temporary bridge made of bamboo collapsed due to heavy rush of people, mainly devotees and their family members," a police official said.
Hundreds of angry people, mostly relatives of the victims, protested against the government and shouted slogans against the chief minister.
Hundreds of angry people, mostly relatives of the victims, protested against the government and shouted slogans against the chief minister.
Over four lakh people from Patna and nearby areas gathered at different ghats here for Chhath celebration, officials said.
Opposition Rashtyriya Janata Dal blamed the state government for the incident.
Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who met the injured at the hospital, criticised the negligence over treatment of the injured.
Celebrated six days after Diwali, Chhath is dedicated to the Sun god. During the festival, married women observe fast for 36 hours, and devotees offer wheat, milk, sugarcane, bananas and coconuts to the Sun god.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 19, 2012, 22:25