For darshan of Kartik Ekadashi at Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Kashibugga village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.devoteeHad gathered. The temple was built by Hari Mukund Panda, a 94-year-old retired government employee from Odisha, and was opened just four months ago. It is said that this temple has been built on the lines of Tirumala Tirupati temple and on an average 3,000 devotees come here every Saturday.
According to available information, this time being the first event of Kartik Ekadashi, more than 20,000 people had gathered. However, the temple management neither informed the administration about the crowd nor any security arrangements were made. The situation became worse due to the arrangement of entry and exit through a single gate, narrow stairs and weak railings.
After around 9 am, the pressure of the crowd suddenly increased and a stampede broke out due to the breaking of the railing of the stairs, resulting in the tragic death of eight women and a 13-year-old child. It is noteworthy that more than 25 people have also been injured, the condition of some of whom is said to be critical.
District Magistrate KV Maheshwar Reddy said that this railing was already weak, and as soon as a person lost his balance due to the fall, chaos immediately spread. Devotee Ramanamma present at the spot told that within a few minutes people started falling on each other and there was screaming.
On the other hand, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep sorrow over the incident and said that if there was prior information, the police could have managed the crowd better. He has assured strict action against the culprits.
According to the police, the temple was neither registered with the state temple endowment department nor did it have permission for large religious gatherings. Based on preliminary investigation, the police have registered a case under section 100 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) and four temple employees have been detained for questioning. At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over the incident and announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
Let us tell you that this is the third major temple accident in Andhra Pradesh this year. Earlier, six people died in Tirupati in January and seven people lost their lives when a wall collapsed in the Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam in April. In such a situation, once again questions have been raised on the security arrangements of religious events.
Temple founder Hari Mukund Panda has distanced himself from any responsibility, calling the accident “God’s will”. But the local people are considering it as the result of negligence and are demanding strict action from the administration. Treatment of the injured devotees is ongoing and the situation is being monitored.