Eight women and a child killed in stampede at Andhra temple

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.

Andhra Pradesh 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 here every Saturday.

The tragedy was worsened by the Ekadasi observance coinciding with 'Karthika Masam', drawing large crowds.

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.

One of the survivors from Dharmapuram village near Ichchapuram, said the approach to the temple is narrow, with only a single entry and exit point, which led to a buildup of devotees on both sides and resulted in chaos.

At least seven of the dead are in the age group of 35-40.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressing grief over the incident said full-fledged inquiry will be done on the incident.

Addressing a gathering in Sri Sathya Sai district, Naidu blamed the organisers for not informing the police in advance, due to which adequate security measures could not be arranged.

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.

(With PTI inputs)