Bengaluru: At least 11 people died and another 47 were injured Wednesday in a stampede when trying to enter the Chinnaswamy Stadium in central Bengaluru to participate in RCB’s IPL championship celebrations. Addressing the media in the evening, CM Siddaramaiah said the government has ordered a magisterial probe under the supervision of the district collector and expects a report within 15 days. He also announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for next of kin/guardians of each of the deceased, and treatment free of cost for the injured.
Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) informed us about the celebrations Wednesday morning, he said, adding that Chinnaswamy stadium has a seating capacity of 35,000 but as many as 2-3 lakh people showed up. He also said that neither the KSCA nor the state government ‘expected’ supporters to show up in such large numbers.
At least six of those reported dead were the ones taken to Bengaluru’s Bowring Hospital, according to senior doctors at the state-run hospital. Many others who collapsed in the stampede were taken to Vydehi Hospital on Vittal Mallya Road, it is learnt.
Earlier in the day, crowds continued to swell around the central part of the city as people rushed in from all directions towards Vidhana Soudha where the winning squad was being felicitated by Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and other members of his cabinet.
“People have gathered outside the stadium and are trying to enter it and many were crushed in this chaos,” said one police officer, requesting anonymity.
The RCB team arrived at Bengaluru’s HAL airport at 1.30 pm and received by Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, after which the procession continued till Vidhana Soudha, a distance of about 15 km. People stood alongside the roads to welcome the champions.
Cricketers were felicitated on the Vidhana Soudha steps as people blocked roads between the secretariat and the Karnataka High Court. This was to be followed by a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy stadium, a distance of about just a kilometre, in an open-top bus. But permission for it was denied since it would further disrupt traffic.
The police officer quoted earlier said that some political leaders demanded the victory celebrations at the last minute which did not give them enough time to prepare.
The celebrations were then moved to Chinnaswamy stadium where there were no tickets on sale, entry was ‘by invitation only’. Despite this, the crowd tried to enter the stadium.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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The Congress and TMC attacked the Yogi administration for the death of 30-40 people during the Kumbh mela – an event attended by 66 crore people over 2 months. That is, more than 1 crore people attended each day. And yet, political parties gleefully took the opportunity to viciously attack the UP government over it’s “mismanagement” of the sacred religious event.
Curiously though, both the Congress and the TMC are silent this time around. It was just a crowd of 1-2 lakh and and yet the Karnataka government messed up.
But now Mamata Banerjee won’t utter a word. Back then she was so pained and anguished at the deaths of devotees in Prayagraj. All that empathy and compassion has vanished now.