Devotees barred from Andhra temple after 9 stampede deaths

VENKATESWARA SHRINE HEAD SAYS HE DID NOT INFORM POLICE ABOUT EVENT

- BY STEPHEN N. R.

Srikakulam Urban Development Authority Chairman Korikana Ravikumar visits the stampede-affected area near the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, in Srikakulam, Saturday.

The Andhra Pradesh police have barred devotees from entering the Lord Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srikakulam district after a stampede killed nine people, including eight women and a boy, during Ekadashi darshan on Saturday.

The order came as investigators probed how a devotional gathering at the privately run shrine in Kasibugga turned fatal.

Witnesses said the tragedy unfolded when one of the entry gates was closed and a group of devotees, allowed in earlier, fell from a staircase after a grill gave way — crushing scores of people waiting below.

“We have barred devotees from entering the temple in view of the tragedy,” said Srikakulam Superintendent of Police K.V. Maheshwara Reddy, confirming that inquiries are continuing.