Rajahmundry then, now Tirupati. 10 yrs on, Naidu govt deals with another stampede at a religious site

Rajahmundry then, now Tirupati. 10 yrs on, Naidu govt deals with another stampede at a religious site


Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced the suspension of a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a senior Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) official and ordered transfer of three AIS officers – Tirupati Urban SP L Subbarayudu, TTD joint executive officer M Gauthami and the TTD chief vigilance and security officer S Sreedhar, in the aftermath of the Tirupati stampede.

Following on-ground reviews at Tirupati, Naidu also announced a judicial probe into Wednesday’s tragedy. The chief minister was seeing off PM Narendra Modi at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday late evening, when the stampede at Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam free tokens issuance counters at Tirupati took place claiming six lives.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who separately visited the site at Bairagipatteda later, apologised to the victims, public, and Lord Venkateshwara devotees on behalf of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for the crowd mismanagement by the police and TTD officials.

Kalyan, who has been critical of the state police functioning, said that he would speak about the alleged police negligence at Tirupati darshan token counters with the CM and the Director General of Police (DGP).

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The alliance partner lambasted the VIP culture at Tirupati, saying that the Devasthanams, which function under the state’s aegis, should focus on the common pilgrims. “TTD board members should visit the victim families and apologise,” he told the media.

The episode came as a shocker for many, including the TTD which is known for efficient daily managing crowds of up to one lakh pilgrims. Moreover, the Tirupati stampede and the other 10 years ago at Rajahmundry has now come to trouble Naidu, otherwise reputed as an able administrator, efficient manager of the system to avert mishaps.

Months after the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led onslaught on previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) administration for the alleged misadministration at TTD including low quality ingredients used in laddu making, the Wednesday stampede handed powerful ammunition to Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party to reverse the attack.

YSRCP functionaries were prompt in highlighting the back-to-back stampedes when Naidu addressed TDP rallies two years back, in which several party workers and sympathizers died in Guntur.

In January 2023, three women were killed in a stampede at Naidu’s event, wherein sarees and Sankranti gifts were distributed to the poor. The stampede occurred after then oppostion leader Naidu left the venue. It was the second stampede in four days at his events, following an earlier one in Kandukuru, where eight TDP supporters died.

On Thursday, former TTD chairman and YSRCP leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy referred to the 2015 Rajahmundry stampede during the TDP’s previous tenure and demanded Naidu “to take moral responsibility over the stampede incident and take stern action against the officials”.

Naidu was near the site at the time of the Rajahmundry tragedy. At least 29 people were killed and over 60 injured during the maha pushkaram, a once in 12-year Hindu religious bathing festival on the Godavari river banks.

The mishap occurred soon after Naidu and his family took the holy dip and left the ghats. In fact, the CM had camped at Rajahmundry a day prior, monitoring the arrangements. Like now, the TDP was in power then, too, in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and support of the Janasena Party (JSP).

On Thursday, Naidu, accompanied by endowment, revenue and home ministers, visited the stampede spot at Tirupati and expressed ire over TTD executive officer Syamala Rao, district collector and other authorities, for failing to avert the mishap.

“Why didn’t you act decisively as pilgrim numbers seeking tokens were swelling? Is this some ‘tamasha’ (spectacle)? I am warning all of you; do your jobs properly,” the CM told officials as he was visibly upset during the inspection.

Naidu, who hails from Naravaripalle village near Tirupati, visited the injured undergoing treatment in the hospitals.

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to each of the deceased families. While four are from Visakhapatnam area, two are from Tamil Nadu.

The opposition YSRCP held the Naidu government responsible for the “administrative failure, loss of lives in Tirupati stampede,” calling it a “black day in TTD history”.

Squarely blaming Chief Minister Naidu, TTD, police and revenue officials for the stampede, YSRCP president Jagan Mohan Reddy said the TTD sanctity, decorum has been degraded “and never before such an incident took place.” He visited the injured at hospitals in Tirupati on Thursday.

“During our term, we conducted such events with care and passion, but this year caution was thrown to the winds. Chandrababu Naidu, who told lies about the Tirupati laddu, has the least respect for the holy place,” Jagan told reporters, while also reminding of the Rajahmundry stampede. “The pushkaralu stampede was the result of his publicity craze.”

Bhumana held the additional executive officer Venkaiah Chowdary, police and TTD vigilance wing responsible and sought action. He also demanded Rs 1 crore compensation to the kin of the deceased and Rs 20 lakh to the injured pilgrims.

“The incident is due to inefficient administration more inclined towards serving Chandrababu Naidu than Lord Venkateswara, besides blaming Jagan tenure. The CM’s priority is publicity and self- boasting, as seen during the Godavari pushkarams which claimed over 30 lives,” the former Tirupati MLA told reporters.

The gates, Bhumana said, were opened all of a sudden at Rajahmundry and Tirupati leading to the stampede and loss of lives “in both cases of administrative inefficiency.” “Vaikunta Ekadasi, during our term, was conducted peacefully every year,” he added.

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: A promised land in limbo. Chief secy to DGP, civil servants await Amaravati plots after Naidu’s return


 



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