Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will visit the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala where six people died in a stampede on Wednesday night. The Chief Minister, who held a review teleconference meeting with the Andhra Pradesh DGP, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive officer and District Collector, is said to have lashed out at the officials for failing to take precautionary measures.
The Chief Minister will meet the injured people and is also expected to announce compensation for the deceased. His visit comes amid reports that the alleged negligence of TTD officials caused the stampede.
The TTD had announced that over 1.20 lakh tokens will be issued for devotees for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10. The distribution of tickets was slated to begin at 5 am on Thursday, but thousands from across the country, including from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, turned up on Tuesday night itself.
Three Dead in Tirupati Stampede
— Sudhakar Udumula (@sudhakarudumula) January 8, 2025
Stampede at Vishnu Niwasam in Tirupati Claims Three Lives
Chaos erupted at Vishnu Nivasam in Tirupati during the distribution of Vaikunthadwara Sarvadarshanam tokens, leading to a deadly stampede.
A massive rush of devotees attempting to secure… pic.twitter.com/IF49Vi38GM
#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh | Visuals from Vishnu Nivasam in Tirupati, where a stampede occurred during distribution of tickets to offer prayers last night
— ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2025
6 people died and around 40 were injured in the incident pic.twitter.com/jmvuFY2Epa
Tokens were being distributed at Srinivasam, Vishnu Nivasam, Ramachandra Pushkarini, Alipiri Bhudevi Complex, Emmarpalli ZPHS, Bairagipatteda Ramanaidu School, Satyanarayanapuram ZPHS and Indira Maidan centres in Tirupathi town. The stampede happened at Vishnu Nivasam, where six devotees died, and at the Bairagipatteda Ramanaidu School, where scores of devotees were injured.
According to local media reports, the TTD officials arranged for devotees to wait inside the Padmavati Park rather than gather on the roads. But, once the gates were opened by authorities to assist an unwell devotee out of the queue, thousands rushed in, causing a stampede. There are also reports that it was not a devotee, but a staff issuing the token who fell ill.
"As soon as the Police officials opened the gate, the pilgrims rushed to purchase tokens. There was no such system for obtaining tokens earlier," an eyewitness told reporters.
The injured were shifted to Sri Venkateshwara Ramnarayan Ruia General Hospital and Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.
In Bairagipatteda Ramanaidu School, there were reportedly no barricades to control the crow. Though there were instructions to set up barricades, officials believed there would be no chaos and opted not to set them up.
Eyewitnesses also claim that there were no ambulance drivers at Vishnu Nivasam where six died. Despite the police giving CPR and taking the victims to the ambulances, there were no drivers. This resulted in a delay of precious 30 minutes.
