Odisha CM announces ₹10 lakh ex gratia for Rath Yatra victims’ families

Bhubaneswar: CM Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday announced ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of two devotees who died during the Rath Yatra crowd surge in Puri on July 16.According to an official statement from Majhi’s office, “Anil Das of Cuttack and Ashok Subare Raikar of Mumbai lost their lives while undergoing treatment after falling ill. Expressing deep grief over their demise, the chief minister has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each from the chief minister’s relief fund to the next of kin.”The announcement comes against the backdrop of opposition allegations that the deaths were caused by a stampede triggered by crowd mismanagement. The govt has already rejected the charge, insisting there was no stampede, describing the chariot procession as “peaceful, orderly and well managed.”