Gwalior, Feb 10 (IANS) An elderly woman died after collapsing during the ‘Kalash Yatra’ held on the first day of the consecration ceremony of the newly constructed Navagraha Shakti Peeth temple in Dabra town of Gwalior district, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday.
The Kalash Yatra, marking the beginning of the temple’s consecration rituals, started from the stadium grounds and proceeded towards the Navagraha Shakti Peeth temple.
According to officials, the woman, who was participating in the procession, suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness.
She was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead. A video of the incident shows police personnel present at the venue, managing the crowd.
Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is also a trustee of the newly constructed temple, was leading the yatra.
Confirming the incident, Mishra’s communication in-charge, Brijesh Dwivedi, told IANS that over 20,000 women were participating in the Kalash Yatra. “An elderly woman suddenly collapsed during the procession. She was taken to a hospital immediately, but could not be saved,” he said.
Dwivedi added that elaborate security arrangements have been made by the district administration for the 10-day-long religious event, which began on Tuesday.
Several prominent religious and spiritual figures, including Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham, Pradeep Mishra, poet Kumar Vishwas, Danti Maharaj, Gurusharan Sharma of Pandokhar Dham, and saints from Dhoomeswar Dham, Dandraua Dham, and Rawatpura Sarkar, are expected to participate in the consecration ceremony.
Earlier, organisers had said that Saint Badrish Ji Maharaj and his 70 disciples would conduct the rituals, while Danti Maharaj would perform special rituals throughout the 10-day event, scheduled from February 10 to 20.
Apart from religious leaders, several political leaders from across party lines have also been invited. Recently, Mishra met Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel to invite him to attend the consecration ceremony.
–IANS
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