Odisha CM reassigns key officers following Puri stampede
After a deadly stampede near Puri's Shree Gundicha Temple left three people dead and over 50 injured, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has made big changes in the local administration.
The goal: fix crowd management before the upcoming Rath Yatra and Suna Besa festivals, which draw massive crowds—think over 1.5 million people.
Lessons from the tragedy
With huge festivals around the corner, safety is a top concern.
The recent tragedy exposed serious lapses, so the government is moving quickly to prevent anything similar from happening again.
These officers were removed or suspended
Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain and SP Vinit Agrawal were removed right away, while DCP Vishnu Pati and Commandant Ajay Padhi got suspended for negligence.
Stepping in are ADG SK Priyadarshi (handling police for Rath Yatra), Aravind Agrawal (coordinating the festival), and DIG Pinak Mishra (new SP).
Dev. Commissioner to investigate stampede
Development Commissioner Anu Garg will investigate what went wrong and suggest fixes before the festivals begin.
The reshuffle shows the government wants better discipline—and safer celebrations—for everyone heading to Puri this year.