Indore temple disaster: rescue effort has a Muslim-Hindu mutual cooperation story to tell

New Delhi: People of the Muslim community took the lead in the rescue operations in the Madhya Pradesh stepwell accident, and people of the Hindu faith made arrangements for Muslims in rescue mission Iftar as it is Ramadan, India Tomorrow reported.

The report narrated one of the Muslim member's versions of the accident and how he joined the rescue effort, and how Hindu brothers reminded him when it was time to break the fast. The accident, though, took some 35 unfortunate lives, but it wrote a story of cooperation between two communities in the face of a crisis.

This turn of incidents happened during the Ram Navami celebrations, which witnessed violence in many parts of the country after miscreants unleashed an attack on Muslims, India Tomorrow claims.

In the Mahadev Jhuelal temple where the accident happened, the temple authorities encroached on the area of the decade-old stepwell, too and covered it with a slab before annexing it illegally. The Indore Municipal Corporation has issued a notice against the temple trustees, but they ignored according to the news portal.

The slab that covered the well was used as a platform, and during the celebrations, a crowd gathered over it. Cover couldn't bear the wait of 30 to 40 people and gave in, leading to a large accident killing and injuring many.

One of the Muslim men explained how the civil defence volunteers of the Indore Civil Defence department started the rescue effort. They collaborated with NDRF personnel and took out 28 people from the water. The well was very deep and full of water which hampered the rescue effort.

The civil defence volunteers actively controlled the crowds so that the rescue mission was not affected.

Police have registered an FIR against two of the temple trustees, and two staff of the municipal corporation were suspended.