Porhika Porhika is in the Ashwwin Manian
HYDERABAD/MUMBAI (Reuters) – A stampede at an overcrowded temple in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh killed at least nine people in the early hours of Saturday, government officials said, and several were injured.
The incident occurred when worshipers thronged the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam town on Ekadashi, a day Hindus consider auspicious, said Pawan Kalyan, deputy chief minister of the state.
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“An inquiry will be conducted into the tragic incident,” Kalyan said in a statement, adding that the temple was privately run. He put the death toll at nine.
Around 25,000 devotees thronged the temple, which can accommodate only around 2,000, causing the crush, state minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy added, while district authorities were instructed to provide medical help to the injured.
A total of 18 injuries were reported, Srikakulam district collector and magistrate Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said, while two seriously injured patients were shifted to a tertiary care hospital for treatment.
The government will pay compensation of 200,000 rupees ($2,300) to the families of those killed and 50,000 rupees ($570) to the injured, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an X post.
(Reportable Ther
