Nine devotees killed in Srikakulam temple crush

 Kasibugga: At least nine people--eight women and a boy--were killed and several others injured in a crush that occurred at the Venkateswara Swamy temple here in Srikakulam district on Saturday. At least seven of those dead were in the age group of 35-40.

State Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said the temple, a private one and not under the Endowments Department, usually witnesses a turnout of 1,500 to 2,000 devotees every Saturday. In view of Ekadasi being observed on Saturday, and that too in 'Karthika Masam', the shrine drew an unusually huge throng.

According to the Minister, the temple is located at an elevation on the first floor, and when the devotees were climbing the stairs, the railing broke, resulting in the people standing at a corner falling on one another. Endowments Minister Anam Rama Narayana Reddy said: “The tragedy took place when about 25,000 devotees gathered at a temple that can hold only around 2,000 people.” According to reports, the temple, opened about four months back and called “Chinna Tirupati” by the local people, has only one stairway for both entry and exit, resulting in the throng of devotees being packed like sardines in suffocating queues.

Srikakulam district superintendent of police (SP) KV Maheshwara Reddy said it is mandatory for temples (or religious institutions) to take permission from the 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 said.

Incidentally, the police provided security to other temples in the north Andhra district on Saturday, but the SP said the owner of the temple where the mishap took place, Mukunda Panda, failed to inform them. According to Reddy, Panda built the temple without the requisite permissions and opened it.

Probe ordered

The state government has ordered a detailed inquiry into the circumstances leading to the stampede and pledged to strengthen safety protocols in privately run temples across Andhra Pradesh. The police have taken into custody Panda and other members of the temple management.

The SP said cases are being registered under culpable homicide charges. Reddy said nine people died in the mishap. He added: “The condition of one person is bit serious. One child is there, a 12-year-old child; the remaining (victims) are all female.”

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."