Kasibugga (Andhra Pradesh) | At least nine people--eight women and a boy--were killed and many others injured at a stampede which occurred at Venkateswara Swamy temple here in Srikakulam district on Saturday.
Earlier, Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar put the toll at 10.
State Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said the temple, a private one and not under the Endowments Department, ususally witnesses a turnout of 1,500 to 2,000 devotees here every Saturday.
The tragedy was worsened by the Ekadasi observance coinciding with 'Karthika Masam', drawing large crowds.
At least seven of the dead are in the age group of 35-40.
According to the minister, the temple is located at an elevation on the first floor, and when the devotees were climbing, the railing broke, resulting in the people standing at a corner falling on one another.
Srikakulam district superintendent of police (SP) KV Maheshwara Reddy said it is mandatory for temples (or religious institutions) to take permission from police when they are organising events, irrespective of the strength of the turnout.
“It is definitely mandatory under the Public Safety Act. They can ask for any number of people. It is not that only 200 or 2,000 people. Even if 200 people come, they can inform us and we will assess the situation, based on that we will provide the bandobust,” Reddy told PTI.
Incidentally, the police provided security to other temples in the North
Andhra district today, but the SP said the owner of this particular temple, Mukunda Panda, failed to inform them.
According to Reddy, Panda built the temple without the requisite permissions and opened it.
Meanwhile, the SP said cases are being registered under culpable homicide charges.
Earlier, Reddy said nine people died in the mishap.
"Nine (deaths). Nine only, (Condition of) one person is bit serious. He is not dead. Total nine people. One child is there, a 12-year-old child; the remaining (victims) are all female. And it is a private temple. It is not a government temple. It was constructed recently,” said Reddy.
The police official said the incident was a result of railing collapse near the steps, which led to panic.
The public thought that something was falling and panicked. They fell from a height of about six feet. There was no stampede. Since the collapse was from a height of six feet, one person fell on another, and that led to the incident, he added.
"It is purely an accident and due to the owner's negligence. They haven't applied for police bandobust, there were no permissions also."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF to the next of kin of those who lost their lives and Rs 2,000 to the injured.
"Pained by the stampede in Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon," he said in a post on X.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed shock over the incident.
Reacting to the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, in a post on X said, "The stampede at Kasibugga Venkateswara temple in Srikakulam district anguished me. It is very sad that devotees have died in this unfortunate incident. I convey my deepest sympathies to the families of the victims."
The CM also said that he directed officials to ensure better treatment for the injured persons. He instructed the authorities and local leaders to monitor the relief work at the stampede site.
Kasibugga (Andhra Pradesh) | Survivors of the Venkateswara Swamy temple tragedy in Srikakulam district blamed the use of a singe narrow gate for both entry and exit and the lack of crowd management, which resulted in a stampede-like situation that killed nine people and injured several others on Saturday.
At least nine devotees--eight women and a boy--were killed at the temple in Kasibugga town. Many sustained injuries or suffered breathlessness and were admitted to local hospitals.
According to the survivors, chaos broke out when the only gate was abruptly opened, allowing those who had compeleted their darshan to come out, while another group waiting below tried to enter. This resulted in people falling on one another and a weak steel grill giving way, trapping many devotees underneath.
“The approach to the temple is narrow. There were many people and only single entry and exit point. As people jostled, we fell down. The steel grill was also very weak. The grill people were holding onto broke and everybody fell,” an autorickhaw driver, who survived the accident, told media.
He said around 20 devotees from his Dharmapuram village had travelled in two autorickshaws to the temple.
"A boy who was also standing under the grill died. He was about 12 years old...” he said.
Another survivor, a woman undergoing treatment at the hospital, said the temple management first allowed some people for darshan and closed the gate ,and then suddenly reopened it.
“Opening the gate at once led to those coming out pushing against us,” she said adding she fell down and three people fell on her.
A second male survivor said so many devotees were pushing against the closed gate.
“Then the door opened suddenly from the other side. Those returning came down with force. Because of their pressure, the people standing by the door and on the staircase could not stand. They all fell over one another,” he said.
He said the tragedy could have been averted if separate routes had been arranged for entry and exit. "There were provisions, but they did not use it."
A woman who broke her legs in the incident, said she visited the temple for auspicious 'Ekadasi' day.
“As people fell on me, my leg got stuck in a rod and broke... My husband is a kidney patient undergoing dialysis and now this has happened,” said the woman, breaking down.
Another woman from Tekkali mandal, attending to her injured husband at the hospital, said devotees are also to blame for the tragedy.
“We saw the crowd and went ahead. But the temple authorities should have stopped us,” she said.
Criticising the poor arrangements at the temple, the devotee said even basic facilities like drinking water were not available.
“This is very unfortunate. We go to see God to seek blessings. Had the police been deployed this might have been prevented,” she added.
Meanwhile, a doctor treating the injured said nearly 30 people were admitted.
“Most came with injuries and breathlessness. Many with broken limbs. We gave first aid to all of them,” he said.