Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday expressed anguish at the
stampede which occurred at Uppupara in Kerala and claimed the lives of 104 Ayyappa devotees, 22 of them being from the state.
In a press statement, the Chief Minister condoled the incident and directed Chief Secretary S V Prasad and Principal Secretary to take immediate steps to extend all possible assistance to the victims in coordination with the officials of the Kerala government.
The Chief Minister has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 1 lakh to each of the families of the deceased, apart from providing necessary medical treatment to the 19 injured.
Meanwhile, bodies were received by a team of Ministers - D K Aruna, P Shankar Rao, Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy, K Parthasarathy, Jupally Krishna Rao - at the airport. Wreaths were placed by them on the bodies.
D K Aruna said that bodies were being handed over to the relatives of the victims, and revenue officials were also sent along with the family members.
A revenue official and a medical officer are being sent along with the bodies whose relatives could not come to the airport, she informed. She also said that the state government was taking all necessary steps for the transport of the bodies by ambulances.
NDMA Vice-Chairman Mari Shashidhar Reddy, BJP leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, Baddam Bal Reddy, Hyderabad and Rangareddy District Collectors Natrajan Gulzar and Dana Kishore were also present.
Courtesy: INN