Tirupati temple tragedy: Devotees claim sudden opening of gates triggered stampede

AT LEAST six devotees died and dozens were injured in a stampede here on Wednesday night as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, said an official.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman BR Naidu said one body has been identified.

"A DSP opened the gates…and immediately everybody pushing ahead led to this stampede and reports are emerging that six people died," Naidu told a vernacular news channel.

Hundreds of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10.

TTD had announced the distribution of 120,000 tokens for Vaikunthadwara darshan. The tokens were to be issued at nine centres via 94 counters, but the sudden surge overwhelmed the process.

The incident occurred near Vishnu Niwasam close to the Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara ticketing counter, during the distribution of 'darshan' tokens.

"A few devotees dying in a stampede near Vishnu Nivasam in Tirupati while trying for Vaikuna Dwara Darsanam has grieved me intensely," said chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a post on 'X'.

According to the TTD Chairman, Naidu conducted a teleconference and expressed dissatisfaction over the temple employees and said such an incident was unfortunate.

There is some suspicion that it happened due to (the temple) administration, he said and added that the chief minister is coming to Tirupati on Thursday to comfort the injured persons.

"The chief minister directed us that these kinds of incidents should not recur", he said.

"Taking this as a lesson, it is incumbent upon all of us to avert these kinds of incidents in the future," said Naidu, adding the chief minister will announce ex–gratia on Thursday.

Terming the stampede as unfortunate, TTD board member Bhanu Prakash sought the forgiveness of Srivari (Lord Venkateswara Swamy) devotees over the incident.

There was some lacuna and stringent action will be taken but lost lives cannot be brought back, he said.

Videos of police personnel administering CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on a couple of woman devotees and injured persons being shifted in ambulances went viral.

Survivors' account

The devotees complained that they had to wait for long hours to get tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, and the sudden opening of the gates prompted the crowd to surge ahead.

"For five minutes we thought all of us were dead. I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," D Venkata Lakshmi told a vernacular news channel on Wednesday night.

She said six boys pulled her aside and gave some water to drink.

According to Lakshmi, people rushed forward and up to 10 people fell down where she was standing.

"Though I was raising a hue and cry that I was falling on the side, people were still rushing from behind and could not be controlled. I don't know if they were pushing ahead, but the men were uncontrollable. People were walking over devotees. I could not even breathe for a long time," she said.

Further, had the police allowed devotees to proceed in an orderly way, this disaster could have been averted, she said and highlighted that people could not make sense of what was happening.

Another devotee said she came around 11 am on Wednesday and the gate was opened at 7 pm.

"One person told devotees not to rush and go in a line, but who will listen? Police were outside, not inside," she said.

A male devotee insisted the police were told about the presence of 5,000 devotees.

He claimed that police opened the gates suddenly, leading to the stampede.

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said she was distressed to know the loss of lives of devotees due to a stampede in Tirupati, and offered her heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

She also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences in a post on X, adding, "My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones."

In August last year, seven people had died during a stampede at Baba Siddheshwar Nath Temple in Bihar’s Jehanabad district. (PTI)