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21 killed in free-sari stampede
LUCKNOW: Thousands of people, mostly women, had gathered under a huge white canopy to celebrate the birthday of Lalji Tandon, the stateâs opposition leader and to receive saris being given to the poor. The stampede began when rumors spread through the crowd that there were no more saris to give away. Twenty-eight people were injured, doctors said. The dead included eight women aged 45 to 60 years, and seven young girls who had lined up to receive saris as gifts, said Dr. Lalit Saxena, one of the doctors who took the bodies to three city hospitals. By noon, the death toll had reached 21, said Rajiv Ranjan Verma, senior superintendent of police for Lucknow. "We came with the hope that we would hear his speech. He celebrated his birthday and gave us death," Ketaki Devi, who ran out of the park to save herself, told reporters. "I saw several women fall down. They didnât get up." Hundreds of sandals were strewn across the park and chairs were overturned. Thousands of saris yet to be given away lay near the stage in bundles. "There were mostly old ladies from poor families who had come to get saris ," said Renuka Sharma, who was in a bookstore across the road when the stampede began. "We tried to stop the distribution but before we could do anything, everything went haywire and old women were trampled to death," said Brijendra Yadav, one of the organizers. So sari! Renaming the town Nolucknow. Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-04-12 |
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