‘Act of God’: Odisha man who built Andhra temple says no one responsible for stampede

The Venkateswara Swamy temple at Kasibugga witnessed a crowd nearly seven times larger on the day of the stampede, as it marked the first Karthika Ekadashi since the temple’s inauguration.

A stampede at a privately-run temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Saturday morning left nine devotees dead and over 25 injured, after a railing on a narrow staircase gave way, triggering panic among more than 20,000 people gathered for Karthika Ekadashi.

Ninety-four-year-old Hari Mukund Panda from Odisha, who built the Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Kasibugga town, said no one was responsible for the stampede that killed eight women and a 13-year-old boy.

According to media reports, one gate serving as both entry and exit, poor crowd control, and lack of official clearance turned the pilgrimage into chaos. However, Panda described the tragedy as an “act of god". Speaking to the Times of India, he said, “Nobody is responsible — it was an act of god."

Andhra Pradesh Police sources told CNN-News18 that Panda and members of the temple management have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act for alleged negligence in handling the event.

District police chief KV Maheswara Reddy was quoted by TOI as saying that the main sanctum sits on the first floor with about 20 steps leading to it.

“A railing along the staircase, believed to be poorly constructed, collapsed and caused a person to fall, triggering panic as the packed crowd surged forward,” he said.

The Venkateswara Swamy temple at Kasibugga witnessed a crowd nearly seven times larger on the day of the stampede, as it marked the first Karthika Ekadashi since the temple’s inauguration.

Officials in the Andhra Pradesh government told CNN-News18 that the organisers did not seek official permissions for the gathering and failed to anticipate such a large turnout. A state minister said that while the temple can typically accommodate between 3,000 and 5,000 devotees, over 25,000 people had assembled on the auspicious occasion of Kartika Ekadashi.

The shrine isn’t registered with Andhra Pradesh’s endowments department, which oversees thousands of temples. “Everything looked fine around 9am, but suddenly the number of devotees surged. Narrow stairway was choked. I was nearby when the railing broke and people started falling over each other,” R Ramanamma, a devotee, was quoted by TOI as saying.

The deceasad were identified as E Chinnammi (46), R Vijaya (48) from Tekkali; M Neelamma (60) from Vajrapukotturu; D Rajeswari (60), G Rupa (50), B Brunda from Mandasa; Ch Yasodamma (56) from Nandigam; D Ammulamma from Kasibugga; and L Nikhil (13) from Sompeta. Two women — B Kalavathi and R Kumari — remain critical.

“I have instructed officials to ensure proper treatment for the injured,” chief minister Naidu said. PM Modi said he was “pained” by the tragedy. “My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon,” he said, announcing Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to each victim’s family and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

Saturday’s stampede was the third major temple tragedy in Andhra Pradesh this year — after six people died at the Vaikunta Ekadashi token centre in Tirupati on January 8, and seven were killed in a wall collapse at Visakhapatnam’s Simhachalam temple on April 30.