Train accident and pilgrims in eastern India

I’ve been away from my computer and traveling to some sites — I have much to tell, but for now, I must write about some serious global pilgrimage news from India.  On August 19, an express train hit a crowd of Hindu pilgrims who were crossing the tracks in the eastern state of Bihar.  The train came through as hundreds of pilgrims were disembarking from two passenger trains at Dhamara Ghat station.  The Hindustan Times reports that the victims descending from the passenger trains were Hindu devotees rushing to the nearby Katyayani temple to mark the fourth and final Monday of the holy month of Sawan.  Likewise, the NYT notes that the pilgrims were en route to offer holy water at the temple to Shiva; see also this BBC report.  NBC news, however, notes that devotees were returning from offering morning prayers at Katyayani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site.  During the holy month of Sawan or Shravan, devotees of the Hindu deity Shiva head to holy sites across the country.

At least 37 people were killed.  Passengers attacked the driver of the express train after the accident and set fire to the coaches.

Uttarakhand and Bodhgaya, India

Some updates here on stories we’re following here at Pilgrimage Portal.

Uttarakhand received 1440% more rain than it usually gets at this time of the year by 18 June, triggering flash floods and landslides that caused heavy casualties and widespread devastation. Photo: PTI

It’s more difficult now to find international media coverage of the aftermath in Uttarakhand, but small groups of pilgrims are still being traced.  This story from the Time of India is an example: it notes 125 pilgrims yet to be found from Gujarati.  The BBC reports that those still missing — from towns in the area as well as visitors — are now presumed dead.  This video piece  touches on the impact of the disaster for the communities left behind to pick up the pieces.

The analysis of the tragedy also continues — this piece from the Hindustan Times discussed the importance of disaster preparedness at major pilgrimage sites.

It is not the first time that India has faced a tragedy at a religious site. With a large number of devotees, spread across faiths, congregating at pilgrimage sites during peak seasons, these places become extremely vulnerable.
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Such tragedies can certainly be contained, says Rohit Jigyasu, UNESCO Chair Professor at Japan’s Institute of  Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage. Then, why do we fail repeatedly? “There is little collaboration between organisations leading disaster management and civic agencies. For example, there is no proper plan for evacuation or exit and understanding of how many people a site can accommodate.”

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Diagnosis starts at the primary level. “The least we can do is to learn to manage our crowds and act swiftly during disasters. We have failed to do that,” says Prabhakran V, who published his research on crowd safety in International Journal of Innovative Technology and Creative Engineering in 2011.

In the news: Landslide in Uttarakhand & attack on Buddhist site at Bodhgaya

Heavy rains continue in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, and the BBC is reporting a landslide with seven fatalities.  This summer’s monsoon rains in the state are said to be the heaviest in 80 years.  There’s less international coverage of the story, but pilgrims are still missing after the flooding — an estimated 81 from Andhra Pradesh.

Here’s an essay that goes draws a line between the “pilgrim” and the “tourist” in Uttarakhand, India, in light of the impact of religious tourism on the area.  The piece makes an interesting observation: that state planning officials made pilgrimage sites into tourism attractions, putting more and more pressure on the infrastructure of the traditional Char Dham yatra or pilgrimage route.

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I also wanted to share another news item: there were serial bomb blasts at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodhgaya on July 7.  Bodhgaya is located in the Indian state of Bihar and is the place where the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, is said to have attained enlightment.  Mahabodhi Temple is thus a primary pilgrimage place for Buddhists.  The temple is also a place of international cultural and historic significance, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 (and so we’re back to that issue of “pilgrim” and “tourist”).  Even those unfamiliar with Bodhgaya may know the story of the Buddha attaining enlightenmnet after meditating under a bodhi tree, or recognize the architecture of the Mahabodhi temple.