Tirupati: In a tragic incident at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, six devotees, including three women, lost their lives in a stampede on Wednesday night. The chaos erupted as hundreds of devotees from across the country gathered to obtain tokens for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, scheduled to begin on January 10. Several others sustained injuries during the stampede, which occurred when a DSP reportedly opened the gates, causing a sudden surge of the crowd.
Videos of police officers performing CPR on injured women and transporting victims to ambulances circulated widely, highlighting the severity of the situation. TTD Chairman Naidu expressed dissatisfaction with the temple administration, suggesting that lapses in crowd management might have contributed to the incident. He called for stringent measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future, emphasizing that the lives lost were irreplaceable.
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is set to visit Tirupati on Thursday to console the injured and announce ex-gratia payments for the victims’ families. Naidu stated that the CM directed officials to ensure such tragedies are avoided in the future. Meanwhile, TTD board member Bhanu Prakash apologized to devotees and sought forgiveness for the mismanagement. He assured that accountability would be enforced, although the loss of lives remains an irremediable tragedy.
The unfortunate event has raised questions about the temple’s crowd control measures, with many urging stricter protocols to ensure the safety of devotees during large gatherings.
