SRIKAKULAM: A stampede at a privately run temple in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh killed nine devotees – eight women and a 13-year-old boy – and left more than 25 injured Saturday morning, after a railing collapse on a narrow staircase caused panic in a crowd of over 20,000 gathered for Karthika Ekadashi. The toll may rise as the condition of some of the injured is critical.The Venkateswara Swamy temple, located at Kasibugga under Palasa mandal and modelled on the Tirumala shrine in Tirupati, was built by 94-year-old Hari Mukund Panda from Odisha and opened just four months ago. One gate serving both entry and exit, poor crowd control, and lack of official clearance turned the pilgrimage into chaos. “Nobody is responsible – it was an act of god,” Panda said.

Act Of God, Says Shrine Founder; CM Vows Action

District police chief KV Maheswara Reddy said 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.Calling the deaths “extremely heart-breaking”, CM N Chandrababu Naidu said: “Had police been informed in advance, they could have implemented a crowd management plan. Those responsible will face action.”

Srikakulam: The Venkateswara Swamy temple at Kasibugga, visited by around 3,000 devotees on Saturdays, saw a crowd nearly seven times that number on the day of the stampede as it was the first Karthika Ekadashi since the temple’s inauguration. With no prior approval for the gathering or adequate security, the few guards were overwhelmed.District police chief KV Maheswara Reddy said temple authorities failed to alert police or the district administration about the festival and the likely crowd. Police have registered a case under section 100 (culpable homicide) of BNS and detained four temple staff for questioning. The shrine is not registered with Andhra endowments department, which oversees thousands of temples statewide. “Everything looked fine around 9am, but suddenly the number of devotees surged. The narrow stairway was choked. I was nearby when the railing broke and people started falling over each other,” said R Ramanamma, a devotee.The deceasad were 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 treatment for the injured,” CM Naidu said. PM Modi said he was “pained” by the tragedy. “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 crush was the third major temple tragedy in Andhra this year.

How a 94-yr-old man’s mini-Tirupati shrine turned into a site of death

Faith met fury of fate Saturday morning at Kasibugga in Srikakulam when a temple born of one man’s devotion turned into a site of death. Nine devotees were crushed to death at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, built by 94-year-old Hari Mukund Panda, reports Umamaheswara Rao.Panda, originally from Odisha, had dreamed of building the shrine after an “unsatisfactory” darshan at Tirupati a decade ago. His mother Hari Vishnupriya had urged him to build a temple of their own. That suggestion became a mission. On 12 acres of family land, Panda created a near-replica of Tirumala — complete with rituals, architecture, and traditions — to bring Lord Venkateswara closer to devotees of north coastal Andhra and southern Odisha.The temple, locally known as ‘chinna-Tirupati’ (mini-Tirupati), opened four months ago. It was built entirely with Panda’s own funds — no donations, no trustees. The 9ft single-stone idol of Lord Venkateswara was carved in Tirupati and dominates the sanctum. Hundreds of other divine idols dot the complex, blending Odisha’s sculptural style with south Indian temple design.But on the temple’s first major festival — Karthika Ekadasi — devotion overwhelmed design. The Ekadasi tithi began at 9.10am, and within minutes, volunteers were overrun.Beyond the temple, Panda is known for quiet philanthropy — feeding hundreds of poor and differently abled people weekly, funding pensions and arranging transport from Palasa railway station to his orchard for Monday meals. Panda said, “I built this temple to offer devotees peaceful and free darshan of Lord Venkateswara, not to witness such deaths.”