Tirupati stampede news: 'Overcrowding, opening gates for one woman' — what led to death of 6 devotees?
The Tirupati temple stampede claimed six lives and injured 40 when a crowd surged for tickets. CM N Chandrababu Naidu called for an investigation, while TTD officials expressed regret and promised action to prevent future incidents.
Tirupati temple stampede: ‘Overcrowding,’ ‘token distribution,’ or ‘opening gates for a sick woman’ – These are the claims circulating about what led to the tragic Tirupati stampede, which claimed six lives at the temple on Wednesday, January 8. Authorities, however, are still trying to determine what caused the Tirupati stampede.
At least six people, including five women and a man, lost their lives while 40 other people suffered injuries in a stampede at Tirupati temple on Wednesday evening. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has ordered an inquiry into the incident and warned that such incidents should not be repeated. Let's take a look at what went wrong.
Stampede
The stampede occurred when a large crowd of pilgrims, who turned up from across the country, jostled for tickets for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, which will commence on January 10.
BR Naidu, the Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), said that a detailed report would be released soon. He added that the reason (for the stampede) was overcrowding.
Naidu said that when a gate was opened to assist a woman feeling unwell, the crowd surged forward all at once, leading to chaos, reported NDTV.
Eyewitness' account
A woman pilgrim, whose family members too suffered injuries in the incident, said that as soon as the police officials opened the gate, the pilgrims rushed to purchase tokens.
"There was no such system for obtaining tokens earlier. Out of 20 members of my family, six have been injured. We joined the queue at 11 o'clock. While waiting in the queue, we were provided with milk and biscuits. However, a large number of male pilgrims rushed for tokens, causing injuries to several women, who were then shifted to the hospital," reported ANI quoting her.
‘Thought all of us were dead’
Recounting the horror, D Venkata Lakshmi, one of the survivors of the stampede, said that for five minutes, they thought all of them were dead.
She added that had the police allowed devotees to proceed in an orderly way, this disaster could have been averted. “I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years, and it has never happened like this,” Lakshmi told PTI.
Apology
TTD Board member Bhanu Prakash Reddy expressed his apologies for the incident and stated that the trust would conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action.
Reddy also informed that CM Naidu and the state health minister would visit Tirupati on Thursday morning.
“To distribute tokens for 'Ekadasi Darshan', we opened 91 counters...it is unfortunate that the stampede happened. This has never happened in TTD history. I sincerely seek an apology from the devotees. We will conduct an inquiry and take serious action,” said Bhanu Prakash Reddy.
Ex-gratia
An ex-gratia of ₹25 lakh each to the kin of the deceased devotees has been announced by the Andhra Pradesh government.
"We cannot replace life with anything else. To support the families, we have announced ₹25 lakh," said State Revenue Minister A Satya Prasad.
Financial assistance
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced ₹2 lakh financial assistance to the family of a victim who died during a stampede.
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