The Justice Somayajulu Commission, constituted to inquire into the stampede at Pushkar ghat here on July 14, 2015, on Wednesday, the penultimate day of its tenure, asked the deponent, Muppalla Subba Rao to put forth his arguments.
Mr. Subba Rao said though two controls rooms were set up to regulate the flow of pilgrims, the authorities failed to rise to the occasion.
The police should have diverted the pilgrims to other ghats when the Chief Minister reached the Pushkar ghat to take a holy dip, but they did not do so.
He observed that the barricades set up to control the crowd were removed to make way for the VIPs. Refuting the claim of government counsel that nine ambulances were placed at the ghat, Mr. Subba Rao said there were only two.
‘Help came too late’
He came down heavily on the Medical and Health Department for failing to provide primary treatment for people who were caught in the stampede.
He said the injured were taken to hospital more than six hours after the incident and this led to increase in casualties. Also, oxygen cylinders were not placed at the ghat, he added.
Mr. Subba Rao said 51 persons were injured in the stampede, but the government paid compensation to only 31. He maintained that the Police and Medical and Health Departments were the responsible for the loss of lives in the stampede.
