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The stampede that killed nine people at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Kashibugga Saturday has become a major political flashpoint, with YSR Congress Party chief and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy blaming the incident on the ruling National Democratic Alliance government’s “failure” to ensure basic public safety measures.
Responding to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s allegation that the organisers had failed to notify authorities about the religious event, Reddy said it was “negligent” of the district administration not to notice the buildup of devotees at the temple.
“Chandrababu Naidu has failed to protect the lives of innocent devotees. Similar incidents had occurred earlier — six devotees died during Vaikunta Ekadasi in Tirupati and seven more at Simhachalam temple,” he said. “Despite repeated tragedies, the government has failed to take precautions. This repeated loss of innocent lives reflects the inefficiency of Chandrababu Naidu’s administration.”
Addressing a gathering in Sri Sathya Sai district, Naidu, who has ordered a probe into the Kashibugga stampede, blamed the deaths on the temple management, alleging that the event was held without ensuring adequate crowd-control measures or giving any advance notice.
“Organisers at the private temple failed to inform police about the event. Had the organisers informed police in advance, this tragedy could have been averted,” Naidu said.
Former minister Dharmana Prasada Rao also accused the government of “trying to wash its hands off” the incident. He criticised the official stance that it was a private temple and therefore did not fall under the purview of the Endowments Ministry, calling such arguments “shameful and insensitive” and saying that “irrespective of temple ownership, public safety is the state’s constitutional responsibility.”
“Despite the sanctity and heavy footfall associated with Karthika Masam Ekadashi, the government failed to deploy adequate police and crowd management systems, leading to the loss of nine lives and injuries to several devotees. How could only two constables be assigned to a temple known to see thousands of devotees during the holy period?” he asked, urging the government to announce an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh for the victims’ families.
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