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
ms/pgh
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
