NEW DELHI: Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar in front of the media on Thursday, speaking for the first time after a stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium left 11 people dead and over 70 injured during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL victory celebrations.The senior Congress leader, visibly emotional, said the tragedy had left him deeply shaken.“We must learn an administrative lesson, let the opposition do politics on dead bodies. I will list how many dead bodies they have done politics on. But it hurts to see the little children. I have seen their pain,” he told news agency ANI.
Shivakumar had apologised on Wednesday, shortly after the tragedy, acknowledging that the government had underestimated the size of the crowd. “This should not have happened and we never expected such a big crowd. The stadium’s capacity is 35,000, but more than 3 lakh people were there. Gates (of the stadium) have been broken. We apologise for this incident. We want to know the facts and give a clear message,” he said.He accused the opposition BJP of politicising the event, adding: “BJP is doing politics. We are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future.” The Karnataka government has postponed all official events scheduled for Friday, barring the cabinet meeting, as a mark of respect. “Tomorrow, except the cabinet meeting, all programmes have been postponed. No celebrations, including the World Environment Day.” Shivakumar added.Compensation announced Chief minister Siddaramaiah, while addressing a separate press conference, announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed and free medical care for the injured. “A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured,” he said.“11 died in the stampede. This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident,” he added. The chief minister also confirmed that a magisterial inquiry had been ordered into the incident, with a report expected in 15 days. “I don’t want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given 15 days’ time.People even broke the gates of the stadium. There was a stampede. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came,” Siddaramaiah said.
