8 women, 1 child killed in stampede at Andhra temple; third this year

The stampede is believed to have started when there was jostling for space in the women’s queue. Temple authorities said they had put up railings and barricades to control movement.

In his report to the state government, the Palasa Mandal Revenue Officer wrote: “Since the entry and exit routes were the same, and the steel railings that were set up collapsed, people rushed in all at once, leading to a stampede.”

Soon after the incident, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu accused the temple of negligence, saying it failed to inform police of the event. Addressing a gathering in the Sri Sathya Sai district, he said a large number of devotees gathered without proper arrangements or prior intimation.

“It is extremely painful that innocent people lost their lives in the stampede. Unfortunately, the organisers did not inform the police or local authorities about the event. Had they informed us, we would have provided police protection and controlled the crowd,” he said. “A full-fledged inquiry will be conducted, and strict action will be taken against those responsible.”

However, former YSRCP minister and ex-Palasa MLA Seediri Appalaraju claimed the temple management had informed police of the heavy rush on Saturday, but “not enough officials were sent to man the crowds”.

“Several youths, including YSRCP workers who volunteer at the temple every Saturday, noticed the heavy rush and called the police, but not enough personnel were sent there. The state government should look into this,” he alleged.

Three issues

According to officials, the temple owner, Hari Mukunda Panda, has been booked under charges of culpable homicide, and three aspects are being looked into.

One, a larger number of people than expected turning up. According to police officials, “the rush was very high and not enough measures had been made for crowd control”.

Deputy Superintendent of Police for Palasa town, where the temple is located, told The Indian Express, “The temple is privately owned. Whenever its owners request us to do security arrangements, we post some police there, but today’s rush was extraordinary,” he said.

Two, officials said the entry and exit points of the temple were the same. “The sprawling campus of the temple did not have separate entry and exit points. People were trying to leave the spot and enter the premises simultaneously,” a source said.

And three, the temple area where the stampede took place was under construction. “The railings and the structures meant for crowd control appear to have been makeshift. They gave way when the crowd pressed against them,” an official explained.

The temple is spread over 12 acres and is visited by devotees from far and wide.

MLA Sireesha said, “The temple was built several months ago by a local landlord. He and his family maintain and manage the temple.”

A repeat tragedy

The stampede at the Venkateswara Temple is the third such incident this year in the state. On April 30, seven people died and six were injured when a newly constructed rain-soaked wall at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam collapsed. There was a heavy rush that day as it was the auspicious Akshyaya Tritaya festival. The incident occurred at the ticket counter, where a large number of people had gathered, including many who were leaning on the wall.

On January 8, six people were killed and scores were injured in a stampede in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh at a counter to distribute tickets for special darshan of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala.

Following that incident, CM Naidu had held lengthy meetings with the Endowments Department — which oversees temples in the state — but the measures discussed were never implemented, The Indian Express has learnt.

As Naidu ordered a probe into Saturday’s stampede, it emerged that some crowd-control measures such as railings, barricades, diversions, and separate entry and exit points had been discussed earlier, after the January incident.

Officials said other suggestions made in meetings included deploying temple management or police officers to prevent overcrowding, especially on weekends, festivals, and auspicious days; avoiding waiting-area gatherings; ensuring smooth flow at footwear counters; and stopping announcements about coupon or “prasad” distribution to prevent sudden surges.

However, these steps were not implemented in most temples, officials say.

“A majority of our temples are very old and narrow and were designed so that entry and exit are the same. Modifications to create new exit points often are not in alignment with vaastu,” an official said.

Officials also admitted that while the Endowments Department inspected several temples, private temples like the one at Kashibugga were not covered.

After Saturday’s incident, Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said officials would visit privately managed temples with safety and security recommendations.

– With inputs from Nikhila Henry