Navrangpur, June 29 -- Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday blamed the lack of proper arrangements in Puri, Odisha for the stampede which occurred during the Jagannath Rath Yatra earlier today, which killed atleast 3 people, saying that "VIP culture" harmed efforts of crowd management too.

Das drew attention to certain 'lapses,' saying that earlier the chariot had also become stuck, and insufficient efforts were being made to move it. Additionally, an event organised on Saturday night did not have proper arrangements.

"There was a large crowd this time, but the chariot of Lord Jagannath was not moving forward, and not enough efforts were made to move the chariot. In the night, an event was supposed to happen, but there ...