Bee attack on tourists at Ellora caves;

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Incidents of bee attacks on tourists visiting world heritage sites continue. After repeated attacks at the Ajanta Caves, a similar incident occurred at another heritage site, the Ellora Caves, on Sunday (May 3) around 10:30 am. A swarm of bees attacked approximately 60 to 70 tourists, leaving 8 seriously injured and more than 50 with minor injuries.

With three consecutive holidays, a large number of tourists had gathered to visit the caves. On Sunday morning, visitors thronged the Kailasa Temple (Cave No. 16) and nearby caves. During this time, a sudden attack by aggressive bees caused panic, forcing tourists to run in all directions. Children and elderly visitors faced great difficulty while trying to exit the caves.

Among the seriously injured was Satish Devjwar, who sustained multiple bee stings. He was given initial treatment at a private hospital in Ellora and later shifted to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Other injured tourists also sought medical treatment at nearby hospitals.

Notably, a similar bee attack had occurred at the same site about a year ago.

Tourists protest, file complaints

Rakesh Desai, who was visiting with his family, lodged a complaint in the register against the Archaeological Department, alleging lack of assistance during the incident. Some tourists claimed that staff neither helped panicked visitors nor facilitated timely exit, and even stopped them to check tokens. Several visitors also said they would file online complaints after receiving treatment.

Departments pass the buck

Acting conservation assistant Nilesh Koli stated that a letter had already been sent to the forest department last year to remove the beehives. However, forest department official Krishna Shinde argued that it was the responsibility of the Archaeological Department to remove the hives within the caves.

Tourists alleged that this blame game between departments is ultimately putting visitors at risk.