PATNA, Aug. 18 -- Eyewitnesses and relatives of victims of the Lakhisarai stampede at Ashokdham temple have alleged serious lapses in crowd management and security arrangements, claiming that the local administration and temple management failed to adequately prepare despite expectations of a large gathering on the third Monday of Shravan. Several witnesses said devotees had been queuing for hours through bamboo barricades, with multiple lines converging near the temple. They alleged that inadequate crowd control and overcrowding led to the barricades breaking, triggering a rush in which devotees fell and were crushed. Vinod Kumar, who had travelled from Mokama to the temple, said around 100 people were allegedly trying to force their way through the entrance, pushing those in the queue. He said his wife was caught in the crush. The entrance was on a slope, he said, and the bamboo barricades broke amid the jostling. "There was no administration, no care," he alleged. Eyewitnesses also linked the panic to rumours of an electric current running through a fallen power wire. Sanjeev Kumar Singh said a cement electricity pole in a field around half a kilometre from the temple and about 300 metres from Ashok Dham railway station had reportedly been leaning for two days, but the district administration did not take any cognizance of it. "Barricading had been installed around the area to regulate the queue, with devotees passing through four to five lines instead of a single line," he added. According to Singh, the pole fell around 6.39 am, after which rumours of an electric current spreading triggered panic among devotees. Another devotee, Sandhya Kumari, alleged that the roughly 25-foot cement pole had been erected into an agricultural field by digging only around two-and-a-half feet into the ground and that its base had not been adequately strengthened. She said the pole first bent and then fell. Saurabh Jorwal, managing director of the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL), on the other hand, said: "The electric pole had a concrete base. We are trying to ascertain whether the pole fell due to weaning away of the earth around it or due to the pressure exerted by the large number of devotees who accessed the paved pathway leading to the temple along the agricultural field, where the electric pole was erected. The electric pole fell around 70 metres from the bamboo barricades put up by the administration leading to the temple. We are trying to ascertain the cause behind the fall of the electric pole." Kavitri Devi, who lost three sisters-in-law in the stampede, said the family had gone to Ashokdham to offer prayers. She said devotees were standing in queues when people suddenly began running in different directions, leading to people falling over and being crushed. She too said rumours about an electric current contributed to the panic. The injured also described scenes of chaos. Twenty-year-old Muskan, who suffered a fractured leg and serious head and hand injuries, said she had left home around 5 am for the temple. The queue extended for more than a kilometre and was more crowded than on the previous Monday, she said. Muskan said the crowd suddenly began running, with people falling over one another as the barricading gave way. Some devotees shouted that an electric current had spread, she said, adding that before she could move away, the crowd swept her into the stampede. Seventeen-year-old Pinki Kumari, another injured devotee undergoing treatment at sadar hospital, said it took around 30-40 minutes to reach the middle of the queue. At about 6.45 am, she said, people began shouting that an electric current had spread and that several people had died. The crowd then dispersed in panic, with many devotees falling to the ground before the barricades eventually broke....