The total death toll of the Kashi Bugga Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh stampede is now at 10. About 20 others were injured in the crowd surge that happened Saturday morning as devotees gathered for Ekadashi.
Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said that the there were “Total 10 deaths. Seven on the spot and three while undergoing treatment.” He also added that most of the victims were women.
Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha said that seven of the victims fell under the 35-40 age range.
In many of the videos from the site, hundreds of devotees, mostly women, were seen holding puja baskets, trying to save themselves.
The stampede took place at a part of the temple where construction was ongoing.
Harimukund Panda, the 95-year-old man who built the temple, told Telugu news that he did not expect so many devotees to come and that in the past there weren't these many people.
Harimukund decided to build the temple about 4 years ago after visiting Tirumala Srivari and not having a satisfactory experience due to the crowd. He said that devotees at the Thirumala Srivari were pushing and shoving each other. He is a part of the Odisha royal family, and he used about 12 acres out of the 50 he owned to build the Venkateswara Temple. It cost him about Rs 10 crore.
Speaking to Telugu media, he said, "Every day, devotees come. They have darshan and leave. I thought it would be the same today. Suddenly, a huge crowd came. They pushed the gates and left. Every day, 3,000 to 4,000 devotees come to the temple. They have darshan comfortably. No one says anything. Everyone goes in line. They take prasadam, eat, and leave. That didn't happen today. A huge crowd came at once. I don't know where all these people came from. 4,000 devotees come every day. I alone maintained all of them. I used to tell everyone to go carefully. Those who went would have darshan and leave. Today, a huge crowd came. The police didn't tell them, no one told them. People came all at once,"
The government has ordered an investigation into the incident. Srikakulam Superintendent of Police (SP) KV Maheshwar Reddy said a case has been registered against temple administrator Harimukund Panda under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, in a post on X, said, “The stampede at Kasibugga Venkateswara temple in Srikakulam district anguished me. Sadly, devotees have died in this unfortunate incident. I convey my deepest sympathies to the families of the victims.”
