BICHOLIM
Amid accusations against the police over their inability to handle the situation despite being present at the Zatra in huge numbers and failure in crowd management by the authorities, the Devi Lairai Devasthan Committee has refused to blame the State administration for the Shirgao tragedy.
“The tragedy in the wee hours of Saturday was very unfortunate and had taken place for the first time in the history of the Shirgao zatra. However, the tragedy was not the fault of the administration. The State government and administration, as well as the police and other organisations fully cooperated with us and maintained discipline during the fair,” said Devi Lairai Devasthan Committee President Dinanath Gaonkar, while speaking to reporters at the site.
“The government must, however, step in to prevent such an incident in future.”
“Since there were thousands of devotees, it was necessary for the Dhonds and the devotees to follow discipline and to take proper care of themselves. Innocent people lost their lives in the tragedy. We will take stricter measures to ensure that such an incident does not happen in future,” he added.
