Tirupati, Jan 9 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Thursday apologised to people on behalf of the state government for the stampede in Tirupati that claimed six lives during the distribution of special darshan tickets for Tirumala temple.
After visiting the stampede site and calling on the injured at the hospital, he told mediapersons that mistake happened and the government owned responsibility for the same.
“The state government is apologising to the injured, people of the state, devotees of Venkateswara Swamy and everyone who believes in Hindu dharma. This incident should not have happened,” he said.
The Jana Sena leader, who interacted with the injured, said they complained that there was no proper crowd management.
“It’s sad that six lives were lives despite the presence of TTD staff and police. The TTD should focus on commoners and not VIPs,” he said and asked TTD members to go to the families of the deceased and apologise.
The actor-politician also stated that TTD Executive Officer and Assistant Executive Officer and the police personnel present on the spot should own responsibility for the stampede.
He said the government was at the receiving end for the mistakes committed by the officials.
He also noted that there was no plan for relief works in the event of stampede.
He asked officials to ensure that such incidents are not repeated. Pawan Kalyan said there were doubts if there was any deliberate attempt from some police personnel and felt the need for investigation into this.
The Deputy Chief Minister said there was also a feeling that there is a gap between EO, AEO and governing council of the TTD.
“Why this happened despite presence of so many police officials? I will bring this negligence of the police department to the notice of the CM and DGP,” he said.
Pawan Kalyan called for cutting down the darshan time at Tirumala from 8-9 hours to 1-2 hours.
The stampede on Wednesday night occurred near the Vishnu Nivasam temple where TTD had set up counters to distribute tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam during the annual Vaikunta Ekadashi festival that begins on January 10.
During the 10-day event, devotees are allowed a special darshan of the deity through the northern entrance.
Thousands of devotees from various states had lined up at counters since Wednesday evening, though the distribution of tokens was to start Thursday morning.
When one of the gates was opened to assist a distressed woman, devotees surged forward, leading to the stampede that killed six people and left 48 others injured.
The TTD had arranged for the distribution of 1.20 lakh tokens for the first three days of the festival (January 10–12). Special counters had been set up at 94 locations in Tirupati.
–IANS
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