Ten people were killed and several others injured on Saturday after a stampede broke out in Andhra Pradesh. The incident took place while devotees were visiting the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam to offer prayers on Ekadashi. Police teams were rushed immediately to the site and additional forces remain deployed in the area.
“On Saturdays, 10,000-15,000 devotees visit the temple. Today being ekadashi, there was an extraordinary rush of around 25000. The temple has recently become very famous as “Chinna Tirupati” (little Tirupati). Like every Saturday police was informed to make security arrangements,” a temple official told Indian Express.
Visuals shared online showed scores of women crammed into a narrow space with guardrails on either side. Many of them were gasping for air and even screaming for help as they held puja baskets and waited in line. The ekadashi rush proved too strong for the barricades — with several people falling over all the handrails toppled. This had triggered the stampede. Horrifying videos from the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple showed the women jostling with each other as some tried to jump over the railing in a bid to escape the stampede.
Many of the women were also heard crying for help as their relatives tried frantically to pull them to safety. This created a chaotic situation — prompting more people t lose their way and thwarting police attempts to rescue and divert the devotees. Some were also seen trying to find ther way out while others pushed them away. Relatives were spotted trying to administer CPR to victims in a last-ditch attempt to revive them.
PM Modi, CM Naidu express sorrow
“Pained by the stampede in Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
“The stampede incident at the Venkateswara Temple in Kashibugga in Srikakulam district has caused a shock. The death of devotees in this tragic incident is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. I have instructed the officials to provide speedy and proper treatment to those who have been injured. I have requested the local officials and public representatives to visit the site of the incident and oversee the relief measures,” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wrote on X.
The Chief Minister’s Office also said that State Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu had reached the accident site soon after the incident. He spoke with the temple authorities to gather details about the incident.
