Six devotees died and about fifty others felt injured in a stampede that occurred at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills in Tirupati in south India on Wednesday night. A large number of devotees had come to get the tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam ticket and there was confusion at many centers.
తిరుమల శ్రీవారి వైకుంఠ ద్వార దర్శనం టోకెన్ల కోసం తిరుపతిలోని విష్ణు నివాసం దగ్గర జరిగిన తోపులాటలో పలువురు భక్తులు మృతి చెందడం దిగ్భ్రాంతిని కలిగించింది. టోకెన్ల కోసం భక్తులు పెద్ద ఎత్తున తరలివచ్చిన సందర్భంలో చోటుచేసుకున్న ఈ విషాదకర ఘటన నన్ను తీవ్రంగా కలిచివేసింది. మరి కొందరి…
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) January 8, 2025
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams TTD Chairman BR Naidu said that five people died in the stampede incident, out of which three were women. One among the deceased person was the woman from Salem – Tamil Nadu. The stampede took place at the Srinivasam counter while some mishaps also happened at centers in Bairagipatteda and Satyanarayanapuram. Most of the injured devotees have been admitted at Ruia Hospital and SVIMS in Tirupati.
Pained by the stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover soon. The AP Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 8, 2025
The TTD has earlier said that it has plans of issuing one lakh and twenty thousand Vaikunta Dwara Sarvadarshan tokens in three days starting Thursday morning. But the situation escalated to overcrowding when devotees started gathering as from Wednesday evening. Personal altercations occurred because of poor security and crowd control, making devotees fume.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also condoled the death and complained about shortage of facilities provided. He has vowed to ensure that similar mishap does not happen in the future, and will be meeting families of the deceased on Thursday.
The tragic stampede in Tirupati is deeply saddening.
My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Wishing a swift recovery to all those injured.
I urge Congress leaders and workers to provide all possible assistance during this difficult time.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 8, 2025
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also condemned this incident. PM Modi clarified that the state government is offering all possible support and Rahul Gandhi appealed the party leaders to stand with the victims and their families.
This disaster has and underscored the need of reviewing and increasing the safety and security measures during such large crowd member attendance occasions particularly when carrying out religious activities.
