Did not delay rituals: Naidu - ANDHRA PRADESH - The Hindu
Did not delay rituals: Naidu
Reacting to the criticism by Opposition parties there was a pilgrim build-up behind the gates of Pushkar Ghat on the morning of Tuesday while VIPs took inordinately long to performed their rituals, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said he and his family completed the rituals soon after the beginning of the Pushkaram, as per the auspicious time fixed by the pandits. What led to the stampede was a sudden and unanticipated surge of pilgrims from three directions, particularly from Godavari railway station side, which led to a crush at the gates.
However, a detailed enquiry has been ordered into all aspects of the case and a preliminary report has already been submitted based upon which action has been initiated.
Asked why he had opted for the Pushkara Ghat and not the Saraswati Ghat, which was exclusively constructed for VIPs, Mr Naidu said the decision was taken much earlier and it was decided to reserve the VIP Ghat for saints, sadhus and peethadhipatis who tend to come with large entourages. Mr Naidu said the exigency plan made immediately after Tuesday’s incident would address issues from a wide perspective, including traffic inflow into Rajahmundry from the national highways, dispersal of pilgrims to dozens of ghats all along the Godavari and increasing the number of entry and exit points at each ghat.
Asked whether action would be initiated against officials responsible for Tuesday’s failure, the chief minister said, “I don’t want to be rushed into immediate action, because I want the Pushkaram works to go on normally. After the Pushkarams we will examine the whole issue.”
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