Odisha Man Who Built Andhra’s Venkateswara Swamy Temple Calls Stampede ‘Act of God’; 9 Dead, Over 25 Injured
Nine devotees, including a child, died in a stampede at Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srikakulam. The temple’s 94-year-old builder termed it an “act of God” amid investigation into safety lapses.
Andhra Pradesh Temple Stampede: 9 Dead, Temple Builder Calls It ‘Act of God’
An unfortunate stampede at a privately operated Venkateswara Swamy Temple in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh resulted in the death of nine people, among them eight women and a 13-year-old boy, on Saturday morning. Karthika Ekadashi festivities saw the overcrowding of more than 20,000 worshippers, a collapse of a railing on a narrow staircase and panic resulting in more than 25 devotees getting injured.
The official inquiry into the incident is being pursued vigorously by the authorities as it happened in an atmosphere of poor crowd management and no official permission for the event.
Temple constructed by a 94-year-old philanthropist from Odisha
The newly built Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Kasibugga, which is under Palasa Mandal, was constructed by a 94-year-old man named Hari Mukund Panda, who happens to be a devotee from Odisha. The temple, which imitates the famous Tirumala temple in Tirupati, had its inauguration only four months ago.
Panda, expressing grief but denying any wrongdoing, called the tragedy “an act of God.”
“Nobody is responsible — it was an act of God,” he said when asked about the cause of the disaster.
Officials, however, have raised concerns about the temple’s safety standards and lack of basic crowd-management planning. The temple reportedly had only one gate serving as both entry and exit, creating a deadly bottleneck when panic broke out.
How the Stampede Unfolded
According to District Police Chief KV Maheswara Reddy, the main sanctum lies on the first floor, accessible via a narrow staircase with roughly 20 steps.
“A railing along the staircase, believed to be poorly constructed, collapsed, causing a person to fall and triggering panic as the crowd surged forward,” Reddy said.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as people screamed for help while others tried to pull victims to safety. The narrow stairway quickly became jammed, leaving several trapped beneath fallen devotees.
Overcrowding and Lack of Clearance
On the significant day of Karthika Ekadashi the temple which usually draws close to 3,000 worshippers on Saturdays experienced the influx of almost 21,000 devotees.
District authorities mentioned that the temple management had neither applied for prior approval nor notified the police about the anticipated large crowd. The temple is not among those that are regulated by the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Department, which governs thousands of temples in the state.
The police have taken the matter under the section 100 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and have arrested four members of the temple staff for interrogation.
Victims Identified
The deceased have been identified as:
E. Chinnammi (46) and R. Vijaya (48) from Tekkali; M. Neelamma (60) from Vajrapukotturu; D. Rajeswari (60), G. Rupa (50), and B. Brunda from Mandasa; Ch. Yasodamma (56) from Nandigam; D. Ammulamma from Kasibugga; and L. Nikhil (13) from Sompeta.
Two women — B. Kalavathi and R. Kumari — remain in critical condition.
Leaders Express Condolences
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu called the deaths “extremely heartbreaking” and said the tragedy could have been avoided.
“Had the police been informed in advance, they could have implemented a crowd management plan,” Naidu said, directing officials to provide immediate medical treatment to the injured and take strict action against those responsible.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over the incident, announcing ₹2 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to the injured.
“My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” PM Modi said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Governor S. Abdul Nazeer also conveyed condolences, urging authorities to ensure better safety measures in future temple gatherings.
Recurring Temple Tragedies in Andhra Pradesh
Saturday’s disaster marks the third major temple tragedy in Andhra Pradesh this year — following the deaths of six devotees at Tirupati’s Vaikunta Ekadashi token center in January, and seven deaths in a wall collapse at Visakhapatnam’s Simhachalam Temple in April.
The incident has reignited debate over safety lapses at private temples, with calls for tighter regulation and mandatory clearance for large-scale religious gatherings.
