'No one responsible': Man who built Venkateswara Swamy temple
What's the story
A stampede at the Venkateswara Swamy temple in Kasibugga, Andhra Pradesh, claimed the lives of at least nine devotees on Saturday. The incident occurred during the Karthika Ekadashi festival when a railing on a narrow staircase collapsed, triggering panic among over 20,000 attendees. The deceased include eight women and a 13-year-old boy. Over 25 others were injured in the chaos.
Temple details
Temple inaugurated 4 months ago
The Venkateswara Swamy temple, which is modeled after the Tirumala shrine in Tirupati, was built by 94-year-old Odisha resident Hari Mukund Panda. The temple was inaugurated only four months ago. "Nobody is responsible, it was an act of god," Panda was quoted as saying by ToI. On the day of the stampede, only one gate served as both entry and exit point for devotees. This poor crowd control and lack of official clearance turned the pilgrimage into chaos.
Incident details
Investigation launched into incident
District police chief KV Maheswara Reddy said the main sanctum of the temple is located on the first floor and is accessed via a staircase with about 20 steps. "A railing along the staircase, believed to be poorly constructed, collapsed and caused a person to fall," he was quoted as saying. This triggered panic as devotees surged forward. Authorities are now investigating the incident.
Official response
Responsible will face action: CM Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his heartbreak over the incident. He said that had the police been informed in advance, a crowd management plan could have been implemented. "Those responsible will face action," he added. The temple authorities failed to inform the police or the district administration about the festival and expected crowd size, leading to overcrowding without proper security measures in place.
Compensation announced
Modi announces ex gratia for victims' families
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his pain over the tragedy and offered condolences to the victims' families. He announced ₹2 lakh ex gratia to each victim's family and ₹50,000 to those injured in the stampede. This incident marks the third major temple tragedy in Andhra Pradesh this year, after six deaths at Tirupati's Vaikunta Ekadashi token center on January 8 and seven killed in a wall collapse at Visakhapatnam's Simhachalam temple on April 30.