Five people, including two women and a boy, were killed and 10 sustained injuries in a stampede at Krishnaveni ghat near Krishna barrage in Andhra Pradesh on the opening day of the 12-day Krishna Pushkaram festival on Saturday, official sources said.

Krishna District Collector K.Prabhakra Reddy told PTI that there was a heavy rush at the ghat since the early hours and devotees pushed one another leading to the stampede.

The other deceased was a 50-year old man, he said. The injured have been admitted to a local hospital.

About 200 bathing ghats have been constructed all along the banks of Krishna river in Mahbubnagar, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Krishna and Guntur districts.

All the 212 temples on either side of the river have been renovated for the big event that takes place every 12 years.

The Krishna Pushkaram this year is the first in the new millennium.

As many as three crore devotes are expected to take the holy dip in river Krishna during the current Pushkaram, compared to 1.25 crore pilgrims who had turned up for the earlier event in 1992.

The bathing ghats in Krishna district alone are expected to attract over one crore pilgrims, while other districts such as Guntur, Kurnool, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar are likely to receive far lesser crowds.

Krishna originates as a fountain from the mouth of a Nandi in an ancient Mahadev temple near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra.

Thereafter, the river enters AP near Krishnanagar in Mahbubnagar district and meanders through five districts, covering a length of 708 kms in the state before it empties into Bay of Bengal at Etimoga and Hamsaladeevi in Krishna district.

The Pushkaram to river Krishna occurs during the period of 12 days after the planet Brihaspati enters Kanya Raasi. It occurs once in 12 years. During this period, the 12 Mahanadi theerthas and the benevolent Pushkaradu are believed to be present in the holy waters of river Krishna.

During the Pushkaram, 70 per cent of the pilgrims perform religious rituals like Pindapradanams, Ganga pooja, Sariganga snanam, Moosi Vayanam and Lavana danam etc. Puranas enjoin that the people should bathe, offer charity and perform oblations to the Gods in the memory of their ancestors. Many of the devotees take the holy tip in the river.

As many as 14 departments are involved in making arrangements for Krishna  pushkaram. The state government has spent Rs 210 crore for the Pushkaram arrangements.

Fisheries department has stationed 3,000 expert swimmers and 628 other field staff at the ghats to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. The Roads and Buildings Department has provided strong barricades at ghats for managing the huge crowds to avoid stampede.

The South Central Railways have arranged 360 special trains and provided 250 additional coaches to existing trains from different parts of the country to pushkaram venues. AP State Road Transport Corporation is running 2,292 special buses to carry the pushkaram pilgrims. About 50,000 police personnel have been deployed on security bandobust in the five districts.

With inputs from agencies