Colombo:
Buddhists swarming to see sacred teeth in Sri Lanka were urged by authorities to stay on Thursday after four died and hundreds became ill during the long line.
Local police chief Laris Patinayake said the city of Candy is already 10 kilometers (6 miles) as long as Buddhists were waiting to worship Buddha’s teeth, a special show of artefacts that will end on Sunday.
Authorities estimated that around 450,000 people were in line on Thursday morning, more than twice the expected daily 200,000.
“At the speed at which the queue is moving, even those already in line this morning may not be able to enter the temple,” Assistant Inspector Patinayake said. “We urge people not to come to Candy.”
The city’s major state hospital reported that more than 300 people were recognized after getting sick while spending the day in cramped circumstances. Four people, including an older woman, were declared dead upon hospitalization.
More than 2,000 people who fainted while in line were treated at 11 mobile health units, local officials said.
“We’re trying to avoid stampedes,” state governor Salas Abaekhoon said. “Health officials are raising concerns about hygiene.”
The railway department said all additional trains to the city have been suspended as authorities are already overwhelmed by the number of pilgrims.
Police commanders were deployed to keep thousands of pilgrims away from the old bridge.
Police said 32 buses were driven away as the city ran out of parking spaces.
The artifact was last released in March 2009, when an estimated 1 million people paid tribute to it.
Authorities had expected around 2 million visitors at the 10-day exhibition, but that figure was exceeded within five days.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
