6 months ago
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It had been six years since 50-year-old G. Chittamma stepped retired of her village, immoderate 30 km from the sleepy small municipality of Kasibugga successful Palasa mandal. The terrible gastric ailment she suffers from had astir confined Chittamma to her location and its contiguous surroundings, adjacent incapable to assistance her husband, Jagga Rao, with cultivation work.
But misfortune had been befalling her household 1 aft the different for the past respective months. They had invested ₹20,000 connected fertilizers, pesticides and tractor charges to cultivate paddy connected leased land, but the caller downpour brought by Cyclone Montha damaged their crop, and their lone son, a lorry driver, had been retired of enactment for the past 2 months, drying disconnected the family’s income.
So, erstwhile Chittamma heard that a radical of women from her village, Nandigama, were visiting the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple astatine Kasibugga, which had gained popularity arsenic “Chinna Tirupati” among the radical of north Andhra, connected the juncture of Karthika Ekadasi connected November 1, she decided to spell too.
“After preparing luncheon for my family, I joined the women heading to the temple. We boarded a autobus astatine 10 a.m., and reached the temple junction by 11 a.m. The tiny municipality was already bustling with devotees from assorted places,” she explains.
Chittamma and the others walked to the temple on with a oversea of devotees who filled the roads starring to the shrine and had darshan. Chittamma had conscionable reached the stairs connected her mode retired erstwhile the entranceway gross was closed down her arsenic it was nearing noon, clip for Anna Bhogam (offering to God). “There was lone 1 exit and entranceway to the temple, she recalls. Chittamma believes that idiosyncratic already wrong the temple mightiness person reopened the entranceway gross and tried to travel out, starring to a unreserved of devotees from the extracurricular arsenic well.
Within minutes, radical began to jostle for space, and the barricades collapsed. “I fell from the stairs, and radical began falling connected apical of 1 different from a tallness of astir 10 feet; it was utter chaos. I vaguely retrieve 4 persons trying to propulsion maine out. When I regained consciousness, immoderate were giving maine archetypal aid. They broke a coconut brought by a devotee and made maine portion the h2o and shifted maine to the Community Health Centre a fewer minutes later,” she adds, showing her fractured close manus and severely bruised leg.
Chittamma was 1 of the 16 injured successful the stampede astatine the temple connected November 1, which claimed 9 lives. “It each happened successful a fewer seconds. A fewer constabulary unit oregon information guards astatine the determination could person prevented the incident,” says Chittamma, present recovering astatine successful the Community Health Centre.
A fewer beds distant from Chittamma, lying successful heavy symptom with some her legs fractured, is 45-year-old Ch. Kantamma. She visited the temple from Sarimipalli colony successful Mandasa mandal connected a two-wheeler with her younger lad Adi. “There was a dense rush, and we were proceeding dilatory towards the main entranceway of the temple. I was climbing the steps erstwhile radical abruptly began rushing retired successful the other direction. Before I could realise what was happening, I fell to the crushed [from the broadside of the stairs], and the stainless-steel railings fell connected me. I was pinned down by the rods and a radical of devotees who fell connected them,” she says.
Adi, who was a fewer feet away, rushed to her rescue. “I saw my parent autumn and joined different younker to propulsion the women out. I pulled retired my parent and immoderate others and shifted her to the hospital,” helium says, adding that determination were nary constabulary unit to power the crowd. “Both my legs are fractured, and I americium not definite erstwhile I volition recover,” says Kantamma.
Holes successful safety
The stampede astatine the The Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple successful Kasibugga temple, the worst of its benignant successful the State implicit the past year, has raised questions astir the information of devotees astatine temples managed by backstage individuals and the request for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to forestall specified tragedies.
The temple is managed by 94-year-old Hari Mukund Panda. Denied a due darshan of Lord Venkateswara astatine Tirumala implicit a decennary ago, Panda began constructing the temple successful Kasibugga, a municipality of conscionable implicit 50,000 residents.
From the main road, 1 indispensable question astir 750 metres to scope the temple, which sits connected astir 14 acres. Several structures, specified arsenic toilets, are inactive nether construction; lone the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, the temples for Lord Shiva and Nandi and statues of Garuda and Hanuman person been completed. It was opened to the nationalist astir May and became an instant crowd-puller, peculiarly connected Saturdays.
“Nearly 2,000 devotees started visiting the temple each Saturday. Being Karthika Ekadasi, the assemblage swelled to implicit 20,000,” Panda says. Asked wherefore the constabulary were not informed astir the event, Panda says helium didn’t expect specified a immense turnout.
Panda is known for his philanthropy and societal service. “Pandaji owns a ample agelong of onshore successful the town, including the coconut groves and areas surrounding the temple,” says P. Jagdeesh, a authorities schoolteacher and resident. The temple’s abrupt fame was mostly owing to societal media exposure. “While locals were alert of the ongoing operation and knew its administrator, societal media interviews during the temple’s inauguration went viral and began attracting devotees,” adds Jagdeesh.
G. Usha Rani, different resident, says that since Panda does not judge donations, devotees bash voluntary work astatine the temple. “On that day, immoderate volunteers were managing the assemblage adjacent the idols inside. They were making announcements done a microphone, asking radical to support the queues, but were unaware of what was going connected astatine the stairs,” she says.
Rani, who was serving h2o extracurricular her location to visiting devotees, recalls: “One pistillate told maine astir the stampede, and within a fewer minutes, an ambulance arrived adjacent the main entrance, and a lad aged astir 13 was shifted to a hospital. Unfortunately, helium died.”
K. Krishna of Palasa, an eyewitness to the Kasibugga stampede, says that determination were nary sheds to support devotees from the aggravated vigor from the main entranceway to the staircase. People, already fasting since morning, were exhausted and anxious to participate the temple. “Most were carrying tiny oregon ample baskets oregon luggage, which made things worse. If their hands had been free, they could person supported themselves oregon held onto the wall,” helium said. “There were nary counters for devotees to deposit their belongings arsenic the temple is inactive nether construction,” helium adds.
While radical similar Krishna tried to prevention others, 37-year-old autorickshaw operator Ranjala Harikrishna from Dharmapuram, Itchapuram, says determination were others who showed nary empathy toward the victims. “Eighteen of america came successful 2 autorickshaws for darshan erstwhile the stampede occurred. The railing fell connected maine and others. Four to 5 radical fell connected me, and I was trapped nether the heap up to my chest. My limb was hurting, and I was suffocating. I extended my manus to 1 idiosyncratic entering the temple for darshan, but helium simply walked away,” Harikrishna says successful disbelief.
Government response
Speaking to the media aft the visiting the tract that day, Minister for IT Nara Lokesh attributed the abrupt surge of devotees to societal media vulnerability and the availability of escaped autobus rides for women. “Nine retired of 10 devotees who came that time were first-time visitors. People came successful tiny groups from each village, and nary 1 anticipated specified a immense turnout,” helium said. The Minister assured that the authorities would present continuous monitoring of privately constructed temples.
Post the incident, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu instructed each District Collectors and Superintendents of Police to compile information connected each temples (both privately managed and those nether the Endowments Department), including large festival days and estimated footfall. CCTV cameras and assemblage absorption systems would beryllium made mandatory, helium said. Simultaneously, the authorities directed the Endowments Department to hole SOPs for privately tally temples to guarantee information during ample gatherings. “Private temples indispensable coordinate with section authorities earlier holding nationalist events,” helium said.
Secretary (Revenue), Endowments Department, Hari Jawaharlal told The Hindu that they are successful the process of drafting an SOP to forestall specified incidents. “We are collecting information connected backstage temples. Officials from the Endowments, Police, and Revenue departments are gathering details from crossed the State,” helium says.
Srikakulam Superintendent of Police K.V. Maheswar Reddy says lapses successful temple operation led to the incident. “The introduction and exit are the same, and erstwhile 1 of the gates was abruptly opened, devotees coming retired fell connected those entering the temple,” helium says, adding that the stairs had been poorly designed. “In immoderate temple oregon building, the slope of stairs should beryllium little than 45 degrees. Here, it was steeper than that. As devotees coming down fell from a higher slope, those beneath couldn’t carnivore the pressure, starring to the stampede.”
Further, the railings were weak. “The alloy railings were made of 1-mm heavy pipes and embedded conscionable 2.5 inches deep. This caused them to springiness way,” helium explains, adding that the victims could person escaped with insignificant injuries had the operation been done properly. The constabulary recovered that Panda had not engaged a nonrecreational contractor for the temple’s plan and construction.
Asked astir alleged quality failure, the SP says determination are 40–50 temples successful each constabulary station’s jurisdiction, each visited by 500–1,000 devotees connected auspicious days. “Though determination was nary CCTV recording, our method investigation shows a assemblage of 2,500–3,000 connected the temple premises, including the staircase area. Around 500 radical mightiness person been connected the stairs erstwhile the incidental occurred,” helium says. Intelligence officials besides accidental that connection astir nutrient organisation astatine the temple mightiness person drawn a heavier crowd.
Whose responsibility?
While the authorities blames backstage absorption and unexpected unreserved of devotees, the Opposition YSRCP blames the authorities for the nonaccomplishment of lives. “The authorities can’t lavation its hands disconnected the substance by saying the temple doesn’t travel nether its purview. Law and bid is simply a State subject, and it is the government’s work to support lives,” says erstwhile Minister and YSRCP person Perni Venkataramaiah. “The authorities has not learned from past mistakes.”
Over the past year, 2 different temple tragedies claimed a full of 13 lives. In January, six devotees died and much than 25 were injured successful a stampede astatine the token-issuing antagonistic successful Tirupati during the Vaikunta Ekadasi festivities. Again successful April, a partition illness astatine the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple successful Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam, near 7 devotees dormant connected Chandanotsavam day.
In some incidents, tiny lapses led to tragic nonaccomplishment of lives. While the Tirupati stampede is believed to person occurred pursuing the abrupt opening of a gross by a constabulary officer, the Simhachalam calamity was attributed to a caller partition collapsing successful dense rain.
