Tirupati:
Following the tragic stampede at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the families of the deceased, along with providing contract jobs. The injured will also be granted special darshan at the temple on Friday.
The announcement came after CM Naidu visited the site of the stampede, which took place on January 8 and resulted in the loss of six lives, with nearly 40 people sustaining injuries.
“Rs 25 Lakhs ex-gratia and contract job will be provided to the families of the deceased. 35 injured victims will be provided darshan tomorrow,” said CM.
Speaking about the incident, Mr Naidu assured that a judicial inquiry would be ordered to conduct a thorough investigation and provide a detailed report.
“Judicial inquiry will be ordered into the incident to submit a detailed report. Two officials – Goshala director Arunadh Reddy and one police personnel have been suspended. SP, AEO Gautami and one more person are being transferred,” he added.
Mr Naidu further acknowledged that the security arrangements for crowd management had “failed”.
“I’m not blaming anyone. I’ve been in politics for the last 45 years. Security was deployed but more precautions should have been taken. The officials who were deployed failed. If they had released them half an hour or one hour prior, this wouldn’t have happened. Better coordination is required,” said the Chief Minister
Meanwhile, YSRCP chief and former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Tirupati to meet with the victims and offer support.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also expressed his condolences and announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims who died in the stampede.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
