Stampede: Rajnath speaks to Varanasi Commissioner directs him to offer all help

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today directed the Varanasi administration to provide all possible help to those affected in the Rajghat bridge stampede.

"I've spoken to the Commissioner of Varanasi who apprised me of the situation. I also asked the Varanasi Commissioner to provide all possible help to those affected by the tragedy," he told reporters after inaugurating a 10-day 'Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav' here.

"There have been loss of lives and people have been injured also. It is a sad incident," Singh said.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said the incident "indicates the mis-management" of the arrangements for the event and expressed the need to fix responsibility.

"It is a sad incident. It shows the mis-management of the arrangements. We have to fix responsibility for it and be cautious such incidents do not reoccur," he said.

The stampede took place at Rajghat bridge Varanasi- Chandauli border when thousands of followers of religious leader Jai Gurudev were on their way to Domri village on the banks of the Ganga to take part in a two-day camp.

Officials said 24 persons were killed in the stampede.