A portion of scalp peels off along with hair; Undergoing treatment at a Mysuru hospital

Srirangapatna: A 14-year-old girl sustained severe injuries after her hair got tangled during a giant wheel ride resulting in the skin of front portion of her head peeling off along with the hair. The incident took place at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple premises on Saturday night where the giant wheel was set up as part of Rathasapthami. 

The injured girl is Srividya, daughter of Krishna and Manjula couple of Bengaluru. She is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mysuru.

It is learnt that Srividya, along with her parents, had come to a relative’s house to attend a ceremony in Srirangapatna and on Saturday night, after having the darshan of Sri Ranganathaswamy, she went on a giant wheel ride during which the incident took place.

The locals have urged that the owner of the giant wheel be arrested and compensation be paid to the injured girl. They also said that there were no safety measures in place and it was sheer negligence that led to the incident.

Srirangapatna Town Police Station Inspector B.S. Ramesh said that cases have been registered against giant wheel owner Ramesh, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Executive Officer Thammegowda and Town Municipal Council Chief Officer Sandeep.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) H.N. Gopalakrishna said that it was unfortunate that the incident took place during Rathasapthami celebrations and added that compensation from the Government will be provided after visiting the girl at the hospital immediately besides stating that action will be taken against those responsible for the incident.

Tahsildar Shweta N. Ravindra said that Rathasapthami celebration takes place once a year in the town during which thousands of devotees participate.

“The temple administration should have held a meeting with the officials of all Departments and should have taken safety measures along with Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), Police and Fire and Emergency Services Department which was not done. The health condition of the girl will be enquired and notices will be served to the concerned,” she added.