Andhra Pradesh stampede: Police bar entry at Kasibugga temple after 9 deaths

The Andhra Pradesh Police on Sunday barred devotees from entering the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam district following the tragic incident in which nine people were crushed to death during a religious gathering there previous day news agency PTI reportedApart from the nine deaths eight women and a boy several others were also injured on Saturday at this temple located at Kasibugga town Many were hospitalised with limb fractures and breathlessnessAccording to the survivors the lone gate was closed and a group of devotees who were allowed into the temple for darshan earlier fell along with broken grill suddenly onto large number of people waiting below the staircase leading to the tragedy PTI reportedWe have barred devotees from entering the temple in view of the tragedy Srikakulam District Superintendent of Police SP KV Maheshwara Reddy told PTIThe bodies of the nine victims were sent for postmortem and later handed over to their families he said adding that two persons who sustained serious injuries are now stable and others have been dischargedThe SP stated that the temple organisers neither sought mandatory permissions nor applied for police protection before conducting the eventIt is mandatory for temples or religious institutions to inform police in advance for crowd management irrespective of the turnout he saidAccording to the SP the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple is a private establishment and was operating without proper approvals The organisers reportedly failed to comply with safety protocols Meanwhile police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNSUnknown amount of rush suffocation Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh on Srikakulam stampedeAndhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh said that an unknown amount of rush at Venkateswara Swamy Temple led to a lot of suffocation and sadly resulted in the stampede due to a lack of crowd management news agency ANI reportedHe further clarified that the shrine has both an entry and an exit The Telugu Desam Party TDP leader said that an unfortunate incident had happened in Kasibugga Venkateswara Swamy TempleToday being Ekadashi like never before pilgrims came here They wanted to take the blessings of the Lord This is a private temple From morning 6 to afternoon 12 they perform darshans Then they take a break and again at 3 pm they reopen the temple The temple has clearly 2 ways one is entry and the other is exit Nara Lokesh told reporters after meeting the injured at a hospital in SrikakulamHe was accompanied by the Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu reported ANINara Lokesh gave a detailed account of the eventsAt 1130 am because there was an unknown amount of rush the entry point was closed Many people who attended felt that they could use the exit route That created a lot of suffocation The entry has steps so the person on the top tripped and fell this resulted in a cascading effect Also the queue planners were not planned for such a crowd Nara Lokesh explained to reportersWith PTI and ANI inputs