Synopsis: 95-year-old priest Hari Mukunda Panda built a replica Sri Venkateswara temple in Kasibugga after a denied darshan at Tirumala. On Karthika Ekadasi, November 1, 2025, overcrowding caused a stampede, killing nine devotees. Facing negligence charges, Panda is haunted. Meanwhile, officials promise probes and safety reforms amid blame.

For priest Hari Mukunda Panda, now 95, the loss of nine lives in the stampede on 1 November at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Kasibugga, Srikakulam district, is something that will haunt him forever.

He seemed to feel all the pain that the grieving families were going through. When the tragedy struck, he was speechless. Struggling for words, he mumbled, “I never thought the crowd would be so large. Never anticipated a tragedy of this proportion

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