Palasa-Kasibugga
A municipality of twin towns in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India, whose Kasibugga side became the site of a temple stampede that killed nine people in November 2025.
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- Location
- Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Country
- India
- Administrative status
- Municipality, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh
- Population (2011 census)
- 57,507 (28,131 male, 29,376 female)
- Literacy rate (2011 census)
- 75.68%, above the Andhra Pradesh state average of 67.02%
Overview
Palasa-Kasibugga is a municipality of twin towns in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. At the 2011 Census of India, its population was recorded at 57,507, with a literacy rate of 75.68%, above the state average of 67.02% (City Population).
2025 temple stampede
On 1 November 2025, a stampede at the privately run Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Kasibugga killed nine people, eight women and a boy, according to India’s official government news service (News on AIR). The temple, built to hold around 3,000 people, was overwhelmed by roughly 25,000 devotees who had gathered for Ekadashi observances; an iron grill along the single shared entry-and-exit passage collapsed near a steep stairway, triggering the crush, according to Andhra Pradesh’s minister for medical and health as reported by The Federal (The Federal).
In the aftermath, police registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and barred further entry to the temple, after finding that its organizers had neither sought the mandatory permissions nor requested police protection for the event, according to The Tribune (The Tribune). Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ordered a full investigation and directed officials to ensure speedy medical care for the injured (News on AIR).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state the municipality’s formation date or merger history, which circulate on secondary reference sites but were not confirmed against a government source read in full. It treats Kasibugga as one of the two towns forming Palasa-Kasibugga Municipality, consistent with the municipality’s name, without asserting ward-level administrative detail beyond what news coverage of the 2025 stampede specifies. A privately circulated 2026 population projection is also omitted, since it is an extrapolation rather than a measured census figure.
Timeline
- 2011
- Census of India records the town's population at 57,507, with a literacy rate of 75.68%, above the state average.
- 2025-11-01
- A stampede at the privately run Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Kasibugga kills nine people (eight women and a boy) after a railing collapsed amid Ekadashi crowds far exceeding the temple's capacity; Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu orders an investigation, and police bar further entry to the temple pending inquiry.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The municipality's formation date and administrative history (such as when Palasa and Kasibugga were merged into a single municipal body) are referenced on secondary reference sites but could not be confirmed against a government source read in full for this profile, and are therefore not stated here.
- News coverage of the 2025 stampede identifies the temple's location as "Kasibugga town" without spelling out its precise administrative relationship to Palasa-Kasibugga Municipality as a whole; this profile treats Kasibugga as one of the two adjoining towns forming the municipality, consistent with the municipality's name, but does not assert ward-level detail that was not confirmed by a source read in full.
- A privately produced 2026 population projection (around 84,000) that circulates alongside the 2011 figures is not stated here, since it is an extrapolation rather than a measured census count.
Sources
4 sources (1 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Population and literacy figures are drawn from a private aggregator's presentation of 2011 Census of India data (the official Andhra Pradesh government municipal page was not reachable due to its robots policy). The 2025 temple stampede is independently confirmed by India's official news service, and corroborated in detail by The Federal and The Tribune, both fetched and read in full.
- Stampede at Venkateswara Swamy temple at Kashibugga in Andhra Pradesh claims 9 lives Supports: Official confirmation of the date, death toll and immediate official response to the Kasibugga temple stampede.
- Srikakulam stampede: Temple built for 3,000; 25,000 gathered, says minister Supports: Detail on the causes of the stampede: temple capacity versus crowd size, the collapsed iron grill and stairway design, and the lack of advance police notification.
- Day after 9 deaths in stampede, police bar entry at Kasibugga temple Supports: The police investigation, the case registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and confirmation that the temple had not sought mandatory permissions or police protection in advance.
- Palasa Kasibugga (Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India) - Population Statistics Supports: 2011 census population, sex ratio and literacy figures for Palasa-Kasibugga.
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