VADODARA/AHMEDABAD: Rakhis, generally seen as a symbol of protection, became a source of fear and panic across Gujarat on Monday night. By late night there were strong rumours that those who had not removed their rakhis by 10 pm were starting to die in large numbers.
As a result, people rushed out to the streets in the dead of night dressed in their pyjamas to throw away their rakhis. The emotions were similar to what was witnessed almost eight years back when Lord Ganesha had started drinking milk.
In Vadodara, panic-stricken residents started calling up their relatives telling them to remove their rakhis, which led to the rumour spreading further. Wild rumours put the death toll at up to 400 in Ahmedabad. Suddenly, long queues were seen outside STD booths with people calling their relatives.
When Ahmedabad municipal councillor from Gomtipur Iqbal Sheikh's phone rang at 3 am, some of the worst fears crossed his mind. "But I was told by my Hindu sister to remove the rakhi she had tied on my wrist," he said. Many residents even forced open temples and removed their rakhis there. Some said that only those who removed their rakhis and offered milk at Mahadev's temple would be saved.
Forty-seven-year-old Pra-kash Shah, a resident, who removed his rakhi at the Siddheshwar Mahadev temple in Raopura area of Vadodara said, "I heard that around 400 people have died in Ahmedabad and only those who removed their rakhis at temples will be saved." At Ajwa road, some Hindu residents even suggested to their Muslim brethren to remove their rakhis to prevent deaths. In homes, hysterical sisters were cutting the threads even as their brothers were asleep.
According to reports, a cinema hall in Naroda in Ahmedabad even flashed a slide during the screening of the last show warning people of the phenomenon.
Ambalal Tabani, a social worker in Ahmedabad, too was woken up by his sister who pleaded with him to take off the rakhi.
