Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed grief over the deaths in the stampede at the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district and announced an ex-gratia for the victims’
families.
“Pained by the stampede in Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srikakulam. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X.
An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) will be given to the families of those who died, while ₹50,000 will be provided to the injured.
At least nine people were killed and 15 people were injured in the stampede at the temple on Saturday.
Andhra Pradesh minister Kondapalli Srinivas told CNN-News18 that the stampede occurred at a private temple where the crowd far exceeded capacity on the occasion of Ekadashi. While the temple can accommodate around 3,000 to 5,000 devotees, officials said over 25,000 people had gathered there on Saturday.
The state government sources said that the tragedy took place at a private temple not registered under the Endowments Department. Officials said the organisers had not sought any approvals for the large gathering, and the state government had not been informed about the event.
They added that the area where devotees had assembled was still under construction, and both the entry and exit points were the same, which worsened the crush.
Minister Nara Lokesh, who also oversees the RTGS department, is coordinating the relief efforts and will be visiting the site to monitor rescue and aid operations.
