False gods exact a high price from their devotees

When a mere man is worshipped as God, the results are never good; as reported by Elena Salvoni and Agence France-Presse in the London Daily Mail, July 2, 2024:

Around 100 worshippers have been crushed to death at a Hindu religious gathering in northern India, government medics have said.

The death toll has risen to 107, with scores of others injured, according to a senior government official. There are fears the number of dead could increase further.

A large crowd had gathered near the city of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh state, for a sermon by a popular preacher but a fierce dust storm sparked panic as people were leaving.

Many were crushed or trampled, falling on top of each other, with some collapsing into a roadside drain in the chaos.

'The attendees were exiting the venue when a dust storm blinded their vision, leading to a melee and the subsequent tragic incident,' said Chaitra V., divisional commissioner of Aligarh city.

Unverified videos show people crammed together as panicked shrieks and sirens ring out. Separate footage shows bodies piled up on the ground outside a local hospital in the aftermath.

Indian president Droupadi Murmu said in a statement on X: 'The news of the death of many devotees including women and children in the accident in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh is heart-rending.

'I express my deepest condolences to those who lost their family members and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.'

State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his thoughts were with the bereaved families and he ordered an urgent investigation into the incident.

'Instructions have been given to the concerned officials to conduct relief and rescue operations on war footing and to provide proper treatment to the injured,' he wrote on X.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said he has spoken to Adityanath regarding the tragic incident.

He said the Uttar Pradesh government 'is engaged in providing all possible help to all the victims.'

'My condolences are with those who have lost their loved ones in this,' he added, 'Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured.'

Crowds had been massing to celebrate the Hindu deity Shiva in the town of Sikandrarao, some 120 miles (200km) southeast of New Delhi.

Hathras District Magistrate Ashish Kumar said that it was 'a private event and permission had been given by the sub-divisional magistrate.

'Security arrangements were made by the administration but the other arrangements were supposed to be made by the organisers.'

Deadly accidents are common at places of worship in India during major religious festivals.

At least 112 people were killed in 2016 after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display at a temple marking the Hindu new year.

The blast ripped through concrete buildings and ignited a fire at a temple complex in Kerala state, where thousands had gathered.

Another 115 devotees died in 2013 after a stampede at a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh.

Up to 400,000 people were gathered in the area, and the stampede occurred after a rumour spread that the bridge was about to collapse.

About 224 pilgrims died and more than 400 others were injured in a 2008 stampede at a hilltop temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.

Perceptive readers will notice that the devotees were gathering to worship Shiva. Shiva is a major deity in Hinduism, and is known as the Destroyer in the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. The destruction resulting from this incident was reported by Cherylann Mollan of BBC News and Dilnawaz Pasha of BBC Hindi, July 3, 2024 (bold, links in original):

The number of people killed in a crush at a religious gathering in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has risen to 121, making it one of the deadliest such disasters in more than a decade.

The incident took place during a satsang (a Hindu religious festival) in Hathras district on Tuesday.

Police said the number of people present at the venue was three times the permitted limit and most of those who died or were injured were women.

A case has been registered against the event's organisers.

The tragedy has sparked outrage in India, and has led to questions about lapses in safety measures.

What happened?

The crush took place in Pulrai village, where a self-styled godman called Bhole Baba was holding a religious gathering.

Officials said the event was massively overcrowded.

Authorities had given permission for 80,000 people to gather but around 250,000 people attended the event, according to the first information report (FIR) lodged by the police.

Chaos broke out at the end of the event as the preacher was about to leave in his car.

The police report said thousands of devotees ran towards his vehicle and began collecting dust from the path in an act of devotion.

As crowds swelled, several of those sitting and squatting on the ground got crushed.

The document added that some people tried running to a patch of mud-filled fields across the road, but were forcibly stopped by the organisers and were crushed.

Police have registered a case against a man who they say was the event's main organiser and a few others on several charges, including culpable homicide.

On Tuesday, distressing images from the site were circulated online.

Some videos showed the injured being taken to hospitals in pick-up trucks, tuk tuks and even motorbikes.

Other clips showed distraught family members screaming outside a local hospital as they tried to find their loved ones among rows of bodies left at the entrance.

Bunty, who uses only one name and comes from the state's Aligarh district, said he was devastated at the loss of his mother.

He saw her body lying outside a hospital on a news channel on Tuesday evening.

"But when I went there, I could not find my mother and have since been trying to locate her body," he told BBC Hindi.

Others expressed anger over the incident.

Ritesh Kumar, whose 28-year-old wife was among those killed, said his life had been upended.

“My family has been destroyed. The government should see to it that we get justice,” he said.

Who is Bhole Baba?

The self-styled godman's original name is Suraj Pal but he reportedly re-christened himself Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari. His devotees call him Bhole Baba.

He hails from Bahadurpur village in Kasganj district, which is about 65km (40 miles) from Hathras.

Sanjay Kumar, a senior police officer in the state, told BBC Hindi that he was a constable in the police but was suspended from service after a criminal case was lodged against him.

He was reinstated in the force after a court cleared him but left his job in 2002, Mr Kumar added.

Details about his life are sketchy, but Mr Kumar says that after leaving the force, he began to call himself Bhole Baba.

He does not have much social media presence, but has hundreds of thousands of followers in Hathras and neighbouring districts.

Huge crowds attend his sermons where he is mostly seen in white clothes.

Since the tragedy, the preacher is believed to be hiding in his ashram in Mainpuri, about 100km (62 miles) from Pulrai village.

Shalabh Mathur, a senior official in Aligarh police, said a search was underway to find him and question him.

Police say he runs an organisation called the Ram Kutir Charitable Trust, which was also the main organiser of Tuesday's event.

Satsangs are events where people gather to pray, sing devotional songs or listen to a preacher and they are often attended by a large number of women.

Gomti Devi, who was present at the event, said she had a lot of faith in the Bhole Baba.

She said she wears a locket with his photo because he "cures diseases, ends domestic troubles, and provides employment".

Gomti Devi holds up a locket with the religious leader's image

As reported by Reuters, July 3, 2024 (bold, links in original):

A massive gathering addressed by an Indian policeman-turned-preacher, considered an incarnation of God by his followers, turned horribly wrong on Tuesday, as at least 121 people, mostly women and children, died in a stampede.

"Bhole Baba", or the Innocent Elder, is the sobriquet of a self-styled godman who was a police constable before he turned to spirituality and became a preacher. Originally Suraj Pal Singh, he later changed his name to Narayan Sakar Hari. He is currently untraceable, and police in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Tuesday's tragedy occurred, said they were still trying to trace him.

Here are some known facts about the preacher:

ORIGINS

Bhole Baba was a police constable in Uttar Pradesh for nearly a decade before he resigned and turned to spirituality, Sudhir Kumar, a senior police official said. The preacher is a native of Kasganj village, close to the Hathras area where the stampede took place.

He used to travel across the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, in India's northern belt, where he has a huge following, and address gatherings, mostly on the first Tuesday of every month, local media said.

A member of India's low-caste Dalit community, Bhole Baba's aim was to create an ideal society, free of superstition and full of compassion, according to a hoarding erected at the site of Tuesday's incident.

ONLINE PERSONA

Posters and videos posted on Bhole Baba's YouTube channel, which boasts of millions of views, show him dressed in either traditional Indian kurta tunics or pristine white suits and ties, often sporting sunglasses, a departure from the spartan image of most godmen.

Holding a microphone in hand, seated on an ornate throne and with his wife by his side, Bhole Baba is seen addressing huge gatherings of mostly women, almost all of whom are sitting on the ground, hands folded in reverence. "Humanity was the true religion, is the true religion and will always be the true religion," he is quoted as saying in a poster.

To protect himself from devotees who would rush to touch his feet and seek his blessings, Bhole Baba had formed a security team known as Narayani Sena, with men and women guards who would escort him to gatherings, an NDTV report said.



Who is Bhole Baba aka Narayan Saakar Hari?

Suraj Pal Singh, known to his followers as Bhole Baba, was born in Bahadur Nagari village in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district to a farmer. He joined UP police and was a head constable working with the Intelligence Unit for over 18 years. However, his followers say he has also claimed that he worked for the Intelligence Bureau.

In 1999, he took voluntary retirement from the service, changed his name to Narayan Saakar Hari and began holding satsangs. He told his devotees he felt an inclination towards spirituality and world peace and he resigned to begin his spiritual journey.

From Suraj Pal to Narayan Saakar Hari

According to a report, he claimed to live in a hut in his village and travelled across Uttar Pradesh to preach. Narayan Hari also enjoys a large following in neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Unlike most self-styled godmen, Narayan Hari is seen wearing a white suit and tie or a simple kurta pyjama accompanied by his wife Prem Bati. He also claims he does not keep any money offered to him by followers at his satsangs and distributes it among his followers.

Covid Satsang Had 50,000 Attendees

Even though the self-styled godman is known to keep his distance from the media, he has been embroiled in several controversies. In 2022, he held a similar satsang in UP's Farrukhabad even as cases of Covid were on the rise. While the district administration only permitted 50 people to attend the event over 50,000 people reached the site to attend the programme. The large crowd led to the significant traffic snarls in the area.

Seeing the large crowds that turn up for his satsangs, the godman has a security team named "Narayani Sena" that consists of men and women guards who escort him from his ashram to the satsang locations.

As reported by Reuters, July 5, 2024 (links in original):

The chief organiser of an Indian preacher's event where a stampede killed 121 people this week surrendered to police on Friday, a lawyer for the preacher said, after police had launched a manhunt.

Devprakash Madhukar was named a key suspect in an initial report registered by police under charges including attempted culpable homicide. Police had announced a reward of 100,000 rupees ($1,200) for information leading to his arrest.

A.P. Singh, lawyer for self-styled godman Bhole Baba, said Madhukar was the main organiser of the Hindu religious event on Tuesday attended by about 250,000 people in a village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. District authorities had permitted an event of only 80,000 people.

"He has surrendered from Delhi. We are not seeking an anticipatory bail," Singh told reporters. He denied any wrongdoing by the event's organisers and said Devprakash was getting medical treatment in a hospital after the stampede.

The preacher said on Saturday he was saddened by the incident and his aides would help the injured and families of the deceased.

"I have faith that anyone who created the chaos will not be spared," he told Indian news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake.

($1 = 83.47 Indian rupees)

Evidence of earthquake from the time of King Uzziah discovered in Jerusalem

The storage vessels after restoration (Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority)

As reported by All Israel News, August 5, 2021:

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” Zechariah 14:4-6

“The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.” Amos 1:1

A recent archaeological find in Jerusalem is evidence that a massive earthquake 2,800 years ago that shook the land of Israel also affected Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced.

While archaeologists have found evidence of the earthquake in other locations in Israel – such as Hazor, Gezer, Tel Agol and Tell es-Safi/Gath – this is the first time they found any in Jerusalem.

“Now, the latest excavations we conducted in the City of David indicate that the earthquake probably hit Jerusalem as well,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement.

Jerusalem was the capital of Judah at the time. Some 200 years after the quake, Jerusalem fell to Babylon.

That’s why researchers were surprised to uncover a “layer of destruction” and identified “a row of shattered vessels, including bowls, lamps, cooking utensils, storage and storage jars, which were smashed as the building's walls collapsed.”

Those items would likely have been seized or destroyed by fire by the Babylonians had they not been buried. The researchers determined that with no evidence of fire, the building’s collapse was probably caused by the earthquake.

“When we excavated the structure and uncovered an 8th century BCE layer of destruction, we were very surprised, because we know that Jerusalem continued to exist in succession until the Babylonian destruction, which occurred about 200 years later,” said Joe Uziel and Ortal Chalaf, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“We asked ourselves what could have caused that dramatic layer of destruction we uncovered. Examining the excavation findings, we tried to check if there is a reference to it in the biblical text. Interestingly, the earthquake that appears in the Bible in the books of Amos and Zechariah, occurred at the time when the building we excavated in the City of David collapsed,” they explained. “The combination of the finds in the field together with the biblical description, led us to the conclusion that the earthquake that struck the Land of Israel during the reign of Uzziah king of Judah, also hit the capital of the kingdom – Jerusalem.”

The researchers said this earthquake was probably one of the strongest and most damaging earthquakes in ancient times.

The evidence will be on display next month at the City of David National Park during the annual archaeological conference of the Megalim Institute, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

As reported by Israel365 News, August 4, 2021 (link in original):

...Earthquakes in the Bible [are] also used as an example of divine wrath.

And the Valley in the Hills shall be stopped up, for the Valley of the Hills shall reach only to Azal; it shall be stopped up as it was stopped up as a result of the earthquake in the days of King Uzziyahu of Yehuda.—And Hashem my God, with all the holy beings, will come to you. Zechariah 14:5

According to the researchers: “The earthquake that occurred in the middle of the 8th century BCE was probably one of the strongest and most damaging earthquakes in ancient times, and evidence of its occurrence has been discovered in the past in excavations conducted at a variety of sites throughout Israel, such as Hazor, Gezer, Tel Agol, and Tell es-Safi/Gath.

Earthquake debris have been discovered at six sites (Hazor, Deir ‘Alla, Gezer, Lachish, Tell Judeideh, and ‘En Haseva”). The debris is tightly confined stratigraphically to the middle of the 8th century BCE. The latest excavations we conducted in the City of David indicate that the earthquake probably hit Jerusalem as well.

It should be noted that this threat of an earthquake was still strong in the public mind 230 years after the earthquake in the days of Amos.

After the gigantic earthquake, no Hebrew prophet could predict a divine visitation in judgment without alluding to an earthquake. Just a few years after the earthquake, Isaiah described an end-of-days seismic event.

And they shall enter the clefts in the rocks And the crevices in the cliffs, Before the terror of Hashem And His dread majesty, When He comes forth to overawe the earth. Isaiah 2:21

A seismic event in Jerusalem is prophesied to be an essential part of the Messianic process that will result in the Third Temple.

The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and the House kept filling with smoke. Isaiah 6:4

Anti-Semitic Somalia suffers from Biblical plagues

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: Genesis 12:3a

It's worth keeping in mind that Muslims from countries such as Somalia--taking with them views such as those described below--are increasingly being exported to traditionally non-Muslim countries, which may just have something to do with the reported rise of anti-Semitism. As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz in Breaking Israel News, December 23, 2019 (link in original):

Somalia has suffered non-stop disasters for more than two years. An almost exclusively Muslim country, Jew-hatred is the rule and not the exception. Somalian anti-Semitism was transplanted to the U.S. and some Islamic insiders are warning that it may soon become left-wing policy.

In 2017, a drought that was to last two years, began in Somalia, leaving more than 6 million people, or half the country’s population, facing food shortages with several water supplies becoming undrinkable due to the possibility of infection. Authorities reported that 50 people a day were dying of hunger.

Just as the plagues in Egypt were a series of natural disasters that left the land bereft of food, Somalia’s two-year drought was followed by an antithetical flood. In November, the worst flooding in modern history caused by more than three times the average rainfall for the winter months, displaced more than a quarter of a million people, destroying infrastructure. Authorities refused to say how many people were killed in the disaster. Crops growing in the wake of the drought were inundated and destroyed, raising the specter of famine yet again. As many as 6.3 million people were left without sufficient supplies of basic foodstuffs.

In addition to drought and famine, diseases, such as cholera and measles began to spread.

Locusts, the penultimate plague, finished up any shreds of food that remained in Egypt. In a similar manner, a plague of locusts, the worst in at least 25 years, descended on Somalia last week, destroying at least 175,000 acres of farmland.

“As the weather seems favorable for the locust breeding, there is a high probability that the locust will continue to breed until March-April 2020,” the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regional coordinator David Phiri said.

As if that were not enough, the African nation was hit by an outbreak of Cholera in 2017 that is wreaking havoc unabated. The cumulative total number of suspected cholera cases since the beginning of this outbreak in December 2017 was 9042, including 46 associated deaths. Over 70% of the cases are children below five years of age. This outbreak contrasts the backdrop of a 60% drop in global cases of cholera.

As this series of natural disasters echoes the plagues that struck Egypt as a punishment for their treatment of Jews, it is worthwhile to take a look at Somalia’s treatment of the Chosen People. There is no known Jewish community in Somalia and almost 100% of the nation’s seven million inhabitants are Sunni Muslims. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch-American activist, is an advocate for reform in Islam, most especially regarding women’s issues. Perhaps less well-known is her criticism of the Muslim hatred of Jews present in her native land.

In her autobiography, Infidel, Ali writes about the pervasive anti-Semitism in Somalia and the Muslim world at large.

“[A]s a child growing up in a Muslim family, I constantly heard my mother, other relatives and neighbors wish for the death of Jews, who were considered our darkest enemy. Our religious tutors and the preachers in our mosques set aside extra time to pray for the destruction of Jews.”

“Only if all Jews were destroyed would peace come for the Muslims,” she wrote.

In her speeches, Ali describes how, as a teen, she was indoctrinated to believe that Jews were a sub-human enemy and that Israel occupies Muslim lands and must be destroyed.

“Islamist-driven anti-Semitism is the reigning anti-Semitism of the day,” she said in a speech in Montreal in May. She explained that Islamic anti-Semitism is distinct from the “classic” European variety, or today’s white supremacy movement.

“Little attention is paid (to it) and that is a pity because it is the most zealous, most potent Jew hatred,” she said. “It both condemns Jews wholesale and seeks to destroy the State of Israel.”

She warned that Islamic anti-Semitism was aligned with the social-justice left-wing narrative “woke” concept that’s prevalent on campuses today, which she termed, “The newest insanity … that everyone is oppressed except white men.”...

...Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, the Sanhedrin’s Foreign Minister, reacted to the string of natural Somalian catastrophes with a disclaimer.

“Can this be divine retribution, almighty providence?” Rabbi Hollander asked. “It is impossible to know what is in God’s mind but doesn’t it seem that these people who curse the Jews are being cursed? It is certainly a possibility. I certainly can’ know but I can only try to interpret it based on the Torah.”

A study of history shows that countries and nations who were anti-Semitic suffered greatly for it. More Germans were killed in World War Two than Jews. Today, they are much less anti-Semitic and they are fairly successful.”...

In the 1970s, the African countries of Niger, Ethiopia, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Mali, Kenya, Nigeria, Dahomey (now Benin), Senegal, and Chad were all struck by famine and drought after severing diplomatic relations with Israel.

Politician blames God for collapse of bridge a few hours after its opening

Reeve Hicks probably isn't a charismaniac, or he'd be blaming Satan or demons for the disaster, as reported by Arthur White-Crummey of the Regina Leader-Post, September 16, 2018:

Part of a bridge in the Rural Municipality of Clayton fell into a river on the day it was opened to traffic.

Reeve Duane Hicks was standing on the recently replaced Dyck Memorial Bridge just an hour before a roughly 15-foot span gave way shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.

“I feel a little bad about it, a little spooky,” he said. “You can’t ever tell when you’re going to die. Thank God I wasn’t there when it happened. Thank God nobody else was.”

The bridge, which had just been completed, crossed the Swan River just west of Swan Plain. No one was injured in the incident. Hicks called it an “act of God,” insisting the bridge was built to standard.

“Something underneath the riverbed just gave way, and one whole section just sort of dropped,” he said.

The RM of Clayton is located north of Canora and Yorkton in east-central Saskatchewan.

Hicks said the foreman phoned him on Friday, before the collapse, to tell him that “something isn’t quite right here.” Hicks and an RM councillor drove to the site to take a look. He said it appeared that the pilings were sinking.

About an hour later, a nearby farmer heard “a big sloosh,” Hicks explained. A neighbour joined in to help and the two farmers called 911 and took action to close the bridge to traffic.

“They saved, potentially, people’s lives,” said Hicks. “Because if you’re driving along, not looking, that would be a hell of a hole to drive into.”

The specific cause of the bridge’s weakness is still a mystery, according to Hicks, who said the Regina-based construction and engineering companies will now conduct an investigation.

“They don’t know if there’s an air or gas pocket or underground river or whatever,” he said.

“It wasn’t structurally faulty. The fault is in what God did under the river.”

The loss of the crossing will not impose any additional costs on the RM, Hicks said. He explained that the RM had not yet signed off on the bridge, which was under warranty.

“It’s their dime,” he said of the construction and engineering companies.

Hicks said he expects a new bridge will be built within three or four weeks. But the delay presents an inconvenience for farmers, who were hoping for easier access in transporting their crops across the river.

“It’s very important to the farmers,” Hicks said. “We were trying to get that bridge opened for harvest and we did, we made it.

“Then it fell apart on us.”

I find it very hard to believe that God suddenly intervened under the river to cause the bridge to collapse. As the movie version of Charlie Chan might say, "If faulty bridge built to standard, perhaps bridge standard faulty."

HT: M.P.

Beware of lawnmowers at church

Charismaniacs would probably accuse the lawnmower in this incident of being demon-possessed. As reported by The Canadian Press, June 16, 2018:

HALIFAX - Police say a 61-year-old man is dead after a lawn mower rolled on top of him in the Halifax area Saturday morning.

Halifax Regional Police say the man was operating a ride-on mower on the grounds of a church on Rocky Lake Drive.

They say it appears that he rolled over a steep hill leading to the nearby Bedford Highway.

Emergency personnel responded just after 10 a.m. but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say their thoughts are with the victim's family.

HT: WHM

27 pilgrims killed in stampede during Hindu festival in India

Submitted for your approval, another exciting episode in the wonderful world of Hinduism, as reported by Omer Farooq of Associated Press, July 15, 2015:

HYDERABAD, India — Tens of thousands of pilgrims taking part in a Hindu religious bathing festival surged forward and triggered a massive stampede on a riverbank in southern India, leaving at least 27 dead and dozens injured in chaotic scenes in which rescuers struggled to respond quickly.

The stampede Tuesday along the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh stampede was triggered by some pilgrims who were trying to retrieve their shoes, which had fallen off in the rush to the riverbank, police said.

Festival participants believe a bath in the river can rid them of their sins, and many believe it is more auspicious to bathe on the first day of the 12-day festival, called Pushkaralu.

"It was a frightening situation, with women and children crying for help," said pilgrim V. Satyanarayana, adding the mayhem lasted nearly 20 minutes. "The policemen on duty were helpless and it took more than an hour to bring the situation under control."

With the bodies of victims lying around, relatives wailed and cried for help. At least 34 people were hospitalized, said Andhra Pradesh's chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu.

Some pilgrims said ambulances took time to reach the site because the roads were overcrowded with people. Officials said that a small place like Rajahmundry, the disaster scene 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Hyderabad, could not cope with the rush of hundreds of thousands of people, and that the situation became almost unmanageable.

Thousands of pilgrims, riding in buses, trains and other vehicles, started reaching the pilgrimage center two days ahead of the start of the festival.

"There is a false belief that taking a holy dip in the river on the first day of the festival will be more auspicious," said Swamy Swaroopanand, a Hindu holy man. "It's the same as taking dip on any other day."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy, tweeting that he was "deeply pained" by it.

About 24 million people are expected to take part in the festival at varying points along the Godavari River, which flows through Andhra Pradesh and newly created Telangana state.

Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 110 people, mostly women and children.

Beware of falling church gargoyles

Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1

Everyday life is fraught with danger, as reported by Mark Guarino of Reuters, September 5, 2014:

A historic Chicago church apologized on Friday, a day after pieces of a gargoyle fell off the building's facade and killed a mother-of-two who was walking along the street.

Sara Bean, 34, was killed on Thursday while walking to lunch with her fiancé, who is her longtime boyfriend and father of her children, local media reported.

The Second Presbyterian Church in the South Loop neighborhood just outside downtown Chicago expressed its sympathy to Bean's family in a statement on Friday and said it was "deeply sorry at the death..."

...According to the Chicago Department of Buildings, a metal decorative piece on the exterior of the building gave away on Thursday and dislodged part of a gargoyle on the steeple and the broken piece fell and struck Bean, who worked at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago...