Dr Kamal demands protection of Langalbandh

Gonoforum President Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday demanded a national committee to protect Langalbandh, a place on the bank of the Brahmaputra, where 10 Hindu devotees were killed in a stampede Friday while visiting the place to take part in a holy dip.

The grabbed lands must be freed before next Austami Snan, the occasion of the Hindu ritual, all sixteen ghats repaired, and the river re-excavated, he told reporters after visiting the roads, temples at Langalbandh.

The stampede was triggered by rumours of the collapse of a bridge where hundreds gathered on that day.

Dr Kamal demanded a proper investigation into the tragedy.

Addressing the locals, he said, "Langalbandh is a pride for us." So all should come forward to save it, he added.

"We are here not to blame the government, but rather we want to grab its attention for united efforts to observe the holy ritual smoothly," he said.

The place became ritually important after Swami Vivekananda took a holy dip there in 1901.

Earlier, local lawyers observed one minute of silence remembering the dead.