"Unknown amount of rush, suffocation...": Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh on Srikakulam stampede

Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 2 (ANI): Andhra 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. Nine people were killed in the mishap.
He further clarified that the shrine has both an entry and an exit. The TDP leader said that an "unfortunate" incident had happened in Kasibugga Venkateswara Swamy Temple.
"Today, 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 Srikakulam.
He was accompanied by the Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.

Nara Lokesh gave a detailed account of the events.
"At 11.30 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 reporters
The majority of those who passed away are women, he said. It's very unfortunate that this incident happened.
He stated that he reached out to an MLA and a Minister after being alerted about the incident within five minutes. "We have a WhatsApp group for real-time governance, which also has the disaster management minister. We reached out to the Home Minister."
"From there, we coordinated the entire rescue operation. We worked exceptionally hard to save as many lives as possible," he said.
"Unfortunately, we lost 9 people," he said.
Nara Lokesh said that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15 Lakhs for the deceased and Rs 3 Lakhs for those with serious injuries.
"As soon as this happened, we informed the PMO," Nara Lokesh said. PM Modi has announced Rs 2 Lakhs ex-gratia for the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the people who have had grievous injuries, Nara Lokesh added.
The Minister added that among the injured, three have been moved to a superspecialty hospital, "who require a bit more critical care"
"We have taken it upon ourselves to take care of them. The MP has given a good suggestion, whatever equipment is required for this care, we will deliver it to their house. The government will take up that responsibility. CM has clearly asked us to come up with a Standard Operating Procedure once a committee reports to ensure that such an incident never happens again...," the minister added.
On a query about the government taking any preventive action in the wake of the second such incident in the State, Nara Lokesh said. "If you look at the temples under Endowment, preventive action has already been taken - it could be in Tirumala, it could be in Simhachalam...This unfortunate incident has happened in a private temple, which is not under the supervision of the Endowment".
"We are not brushing aside our responsibility, but now we need to come together and ensure that robust SOPs are in place to make sure that such an incident does not happen again..."
The Minister admitted that they were "caught off guard" and noted how the "slow congregation" had turned into a "large and unplanned" group, pointing out that most of the devotees were visiting the temple for the first time.
"The majority of the pilgrims who came here are first-timers. So, out of the 16 people who are here (in the Hospital), one person stated that this was her second time that she came for darshan. So, no one imagined that such a crowd would come. It's not from one village. I checked with everyone...It's a slow congregation that resulted in a large group. It was a very unplanned congregation...They all wanted to take Lord Balaji's darshan. It's a very unfortunate incident," Nara Lokesh said.
"As part of SoPs, we will now devise not only for temples under Endowment but also for temples under private management, how do we better monitor and ensure the quality of construction..."
Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu said in a post on X that she was "Shocked to learn about the loss of lives" and expressed her "deepest condolences" to the bereaved families. (ANI)