''What should I do if so many people come at once?'' Andhra temple founder on stampede that killed 9
Kasibugga (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Claiming he was not responsible for the tragic stampede at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple here that left nine devotees dead, the 94-year-old founder of the temple has said devotees rushed on their own during the gathering.
He further said he had not informed the police as he thought everything would be normal like any other day and did not expect such a big crowd on Saturday.
Nine people--eight women and a boy--were killed and many others injured in the stampede at the temple constructed by Panda on his own land, here in Srikakulam District, on Saturday.
The tragedy was worsened by the Ekadasi observance coinciding with 'Karthika Masam', drawing large crowds.
"What should I do if so many people come at once? I usually send everyone in line but yesterday there were so many people. I don't know what happened, I did not inform any police," temple priest Mukunda Panda told videos.
"I did not inform the police. I have courage, I told everyone to go in a queue line. People came for darshan — what can I do if they rushed and the situation turned like this?” temple priest Mukunda Panda asked while speaking to the media.
He further said he was there until 3 PM without having lunch even as police came and controlled the crowd.
The temple, owned by priest Mukunda Panda, was neither converted for non-agricultural use nor registered with the Endowments Department, and the organisers failed to inform local police before conducting the event, Srikakulam district superintendent of police, KV Maheshwara Reddy told PTI.
The SP said the temple organisers neither sought mandatory permissions nor applied for police protection before conducting the event.
According to the SP, the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple is a private establishment and was operating without proper approvals. The organisers reportedly failed to comply with safety protocols. Meanwhile, police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
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