- By Yashashvi Tak
- Sun, 02 Nov 2025 03:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A 94-year-old man, Hari Mukunda Panda, who constructed the Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, where at least nine people died and several were injured in a stampede on Saturday, said he never expected such a massive crowd. The temple, he noted, had never witnessed such large gatherings before.
Modelled after the renowned Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, the shrine is locally referred to as ‘Chinna Tirupati’ or ‘Mini Tirupati’. The construction was still underway when tragedy struck on Ekadashi.
Panda told NDTV that he had not informed the local authorities about the Ekadashi event. "I built the temple on my private land. Why should I inform the police or administration?" he asked. “Nobody is responsible, it was an act of god,” Panda said, according to The Times of India. Police have registered a case against him as the investigation into the stampede continues.
"Every day, devotees come. They have darshan and leave. I thought it would be the same today. Suddenly, a huge crowd came. They pushed the gates and left. Every day, 3,000 to 4,000 devotees come to the temple. They have darshan comfortably. No one says anything. Everyone goes in line. They take prasadam, eat, and leave. That didn't happen today. A huge crowd came at once. I don't know where all these people came from. 4,000 devotees come every day. I alone maintained all of them. I used to tell everyone to go carefully. Those who went would have darshan and leave. Today, a huge crowd came. The police didn't tell them, no one told them. People came all at once," he was quoted as saying by Telugu media.
Panda reportedly spent around Rs 10 crore to build the temple after a disappointing visit to Tirumala Srivari, where he said devotees were pushing and shoving one another. "You may book multiple cases. I have no issues," he asserted.
The priest added that the temple typically saw smaller gatherings and he hadn’t anticipated such a surge on Ekadashi. "The crowd is usually smaller at the temple. After darshan of the deity, devotees receive prasad, and they leave. I don't ask for anything. I cook the food and prasad with my own money. But yesterday, the crowd suddenly swelled at 9 am. The prasad we cooked was finished. We didn't get time to prepare more food," he said.
According to reports, Panda hails from a royal family in Odisha and constructed the temple on 12 acres of his 50-acre landholding.