Stadium Capacity 35,000 But 2-3 lakh Turned Up”: Siddaramaiah On RCB Tragedy

Bengaluru:

Hours after 11 people died in a stampede today, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah admitted they did not expect such huge crowds to turn up at the IPL victory celebrations of RCB in Bengaluru. He expressed shock and extended condolences to the families of the 11 people. He said the “pain of this tragedy has also erased the joy of victory.”

At a press conference this evening, the chief minister said they did not expect the tragedy as the stadium can accommodate 35,000 people.

The chief minister said the IPL final match continued till late Tuesday night. The state cricket association organised the victory celebrations, and the government also planned events as part of the occasion, he said.

“The crowd turnout exceeded all expectations. Over one lakh people gathered in front of Vidhana Soudha, but no untoward incident occurred at that venue. However, the tragedy occurred at Chinnaswamy Stadium. No one anticipated this – neither the cricket association nor the government. The stadium has a seating capacity of 35,000, but an estimated two to three lakh people turned up. We did not expect such a massive turnout; we had only anticipated a crowd equal to the stadium’s capacity,” Siddaramaiah said.