Stampede for jobs in Visakhapatnam, 7 hospitalised

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At least seven persons were admitted to the King George Hospital due to suffocation after being caught in a surging mass of aspirants at an army recruitment rally held at the Armed Reserve grounds here.

The recruitment exercise turned chaotic as thousands of aspirants tried to gain entry into the grounds all at once in the early hours of Sunday.

More than 10,000 aspirants, from various districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh turned up at the recruitment drive that was supposed to begin in the morning. The aspirants, who were waiting for a long time, rushed in as soon as the authorities opened the gates.

Since the entrance was just 10 feet wide, a stampede ensued, resulting in seven aspirants falling unconscious. Revenue and army staff rushed them to the hospital.

“We initially planned to organise the recruitment drive at the Indira Priyadarshini ground I-Town but seeing the response, we shifted the venue to AR grounds at the last minute. The stampede took place as everyone wanted to enter the grounds simultaneously. Those who were admitted to the hospital were discharged after treatment,” additional joint collector S. Satyanarayana, who was looking after the arrangements, told this newspaper.

Authorities also ruled out initial reports that flashed on the 24-hour vernacular news channels that at least three persons died due to suffocation and many suffered severe injuries in the stampede.
However the aspirants, who had come from faraway places alleged that there were no basic amenities at the venue.

“They didn’t even provide drinking water here. Since this place is isolated, there are no shops nearby for us to buy some water,” said Thathabbai, who had come from West Godavari.

More than 10,000 unemployed youth from West and East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizian-agaram and Srikakulam districts thronged the Armed Reserve grounds for recruitment.

“We provided first aid to some of them and shifted those who needed some more medical assistance to the KGH,” said Dr Prasanna Bharathi at AR grounds.

A team of doctors was also seen at the recruitment venue to check the health conditions of the aspirants.