The Hindu : Front Page : 6 killed in stampede on Indrakeeladri

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Friday, Jan 04, 2008
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6 killed in stampede on Indrakeeladri

Staff Reporter

Tragedy on ghat road leading to Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada

The dead include five women and an eight-year-old boy
Chief Minister orders immediate sacking of the entire Trust Board

PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

Temple tragedy: Family members of one of the six stampede victims in a state of shock at the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on Thursday.

VIJAYAWADA: A stampede on Indrakeeladri, the abode of famous Kanakadurga temple, in the early hours of Thursday left six persons dead and about 12 injured. The dead included five women and an eight-year-old boy.

The stampede took place on the ghat road leading to the temple, which was thronged by an unprecedented rush of devotees observing ‘Bhavani deeksha’ for 41 days. The ‘deeksha’ ended on Thursday at the end of a five-day period of relinquishment.

The victims were identified as M. Rambabu (8) of Eluru, P. Sunitha (24) of East Godavari district, S. Lakshmi (45), of Kothapet in Vijayawada, K.S. Bai (20) of Kurnool district, G. Ramulamma (50) of Visakhapatnam and K. Eswaramma (40) of Visakhapatnam district. The injured included a police constable.

The tragedy occurred at around 4.30 a.m. when over one lakh pilgrims competed with each other to reach the temple through the narrow ghat road. With security arrangements being distinctly poor and the barricading system far from satisfactory, a scuffle took place near the ‘Om’ circle, which soon degenerated into a stampede.

The temple was opened at 2 a.m. on Wednesday and the pilgrim rush began in the very first hour. Though the narrow ghat road was divided into two by erecting a barricade, the authorities failed to enforce the one-way rule resulting in confusion.

Special Correspondent from Hyderabad adds: Taking serious note of the tragedy, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, ordered immediate sacking of the entire Trust Board of the Kanakadurga temple headed by P. Narayan Reddy. Expressing his ire at the shoddy handling of the crowd, Dr. Reddy said the temple committee should have made more effective and foolproof arrangements for the darshan.

The Government constituted a three-member committee comprising I. V. Subba Rao, Principal Secretary, Revenue (Endowments), P. Sundar Kumar, Commissioner of Endowments, and S. Suresh Kumar, Joint Collector of Krishna district to inquire into the stampede and pin responsibility. It also announced ex gratia of Rs. 1 lakh each for families of the dead and Rs.10,000 each for the injured.

Background

Endowments Minister J. Ratnakar Rao told The Hindu before leaving for Vijayawada, that the committee would also recommend steps to prevent such incidents in all temples. He said a further assistance in the form of allotment of houses or house-sites would be given after ascertaining the socio-economic background of the families. He said there was lack of coordination between the city police and the Devasthanam staff in evolving a strategy to handle the pilgrim rush properly.

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