Andhra temple stampede: ‘Person on top tripped and fell, causing suffocation,’ says Nara Lokesh
Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh): At least nine people were killed and several others injured in a stampede at the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Sunday.
State minister Nara Lokesh said the tragedy occurred due to “an unknown amount of rush” that led to “a lot of suffocation” among devotees gathered for the Ekadashi celebrations.
According to Lokesh, the temple had separate entry and exit gates, but due to the overwhelming crowd, the entry point was shut. Devotees then began using the exit route, which caused chaos and suffocation.
“At 11.30 am, because there was an unknown number 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 top tripped and fell; this resulted in a cascading effect. Also, the queue planners were not prepared for such a crowd,” Lokesh told reporters.
He said most of the deceased were women. “As soon as I was informed, I reached out to an MLA and a minister. We have a WhatsApp group for real-time governance, which also includes the disaster management minister.
We immediately coordinated with the Home Minister and worked tirelessly to save as many lives as possible,” he added.
In an official statement, the Andhra Pradesh government said the stampede was triggered when a large crowd surged forward as the temple gates opened, leading to panic. Around 15,000 devotees were present at the site during the incident.
Srikakulam Superintendent of Police KV Maheswara Reddy stated that the tragedy occurred due to structural and crowd management lapses.
“There is only one entry and exit. The incident occurred after the collapse of an iron grill near the steps. The public, in fear, thought something was falling and panicked,” he said.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party chief and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed grief over the loss of lives and criticised the state government for its alleged negligence.
“This repeated loss of innocent lives reflects the inefficiency of Chandrababu Naidu’s administration,” he said, recalling previous temple stampedes at Tirupati and Simhachalam.