LIVE | Tirupati stampede: 6 killed; CM Naidu orders judicial probe
A stampede broke out on temple premises when devotees were waiting for the distribution of the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam tickets
At least six devotees were killed and 40 others injured in a stampede that broke out during the distribution of tokens for ‘Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam’ at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills on Wednesday (January 8) night.
Hundreds of devotees had turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, a special ‘darshan’, commencing from January 10.
Tirupati district collector S Venkateswar has told reporters that five of the deceased devotees were women.
“One deceased person came from Salem in Tamil Nadu and another from Narsipatnam in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
SP, 2 officials transferred
Viral videos of the incident showed police administering CPR on a couple of women devotees and injured persons being shifted in ambulances.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he would order a judicial inquiry into the stampede incident, besides transferring three senior officials including the district Superintendent of Police.
Addressing a press conference, Naidu said he has ordered suspension of two officials, including a DSP, for their dereliction.
He further said he noticed some loopholes or leakages in the administration and monitoring mechanisms in Tirupati which should have been 'perfect'.
What triggered the stampede?
A heavy jostle among the crowd at the ticket counter at MGM High School in Bairagipatteda is suspected to have led to the stampede. Eyewitness told reporters that around 60 people fell on each other while collecting the darshan tickets, leading to the stampede.
Reports say that a huge crowd of devotees had gathered outside over 90 ticket counters set up for the Vaikuntha Ekadasi festival starting Friday.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the temple administration body had made arrangement for distribution of 1,20,000 tokens to devotees for the ‘sarva darshan’ (free darshan) of the deity for the first three days of the 10-day festival.
But even though darshan tokens were slated to be distributed at the counters from 5 am on Thursday, a mammoth crowd gathered outside the counters on Wednesday night itself.
‘Crowd of 5,000 jostled outside counter’
While counters were set up at 94 places, Tirupati Municipal Commissioner said pushing and jostling were reported outside the counter set up at MGM High School near the Vishnu Nivasam temple. He said a crowd of around 4,000-5,000 people had gathered outside it from Wednesday morning itself, and by evening turned unruly.
TTD chairman BR Naidu said all hell broke loose when the counter gate was opened to allow a woman who was feeling unwell to leave the place. This led to a forward surge of the crowd, triggering the deadly stampede.
Several devotees have also alleged mismanagement and failure to put crowd-control measures in place by the administration.
It is also being alleged that ambulances didn’t reach the stampede site on time, delaying the shifting of the injured to the hospital.
Probe initiated
BR Naidu, however, asserted that it was just an accident.
“I had suspected something could go wrong and warned officials not to take it easy. There were rumours spread that not everyone may be allowed in Tirumala,” he said.The Tirupati East Police have registered two separate FIRs following the deaths of multiple devotees. A probe has also been initiated into the incident to see if the police was at fault in managing crowd.
Govt announces compensation for victims
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government has announced Rs 25 lakh compensation for the families of those who died in the stampede. A team of ministers visited Tirupati to meet the victims' families and assure them of the government's support.
Home Minister Anitha, Revenue Minister Angani Satya Prasad, Endowments Minister Anam Rama Narayana Reddy, and other senior officials inspected the bodies at Ruia Hospital on Thursday morning. They met grieving families, gathered details about the victims, and announced a thorough investigation into the incident. Strict action will be taken against staff found negligent, with CCTV footage from the token issuance centres under review, they said.
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Live Updates
- 9 Jan 2025 2:19 PM IST
Andhra CM should own moral responsibility for Tirupati stampede: YSRCP
Senior YSRCP leader and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman B Karunakar Reddy on Thursday demanded that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu should own moral responsibility for the Tirupati stampede and initiate stringent action against the officials responsible.
The Congress' state unit held the TTD that governs the Lord Venkatswara temple, responsible for the tragedy and called for immediate probe into the incident.
Six devotees died and nearly 40 more were injured in a stampede at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati on Wednesday night as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills.
Scores of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10.
"The EO (executive officer), SP (superintendent of police) and his subordinates, besides the vigilance wing of the TTD, should be held responsible and action should be taken against them," said Karunakar Reddy.
In a press release, he demanded an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the kin of the deceased and Rs 20 lakh for the injured persons.
According to the former TTD chairman, the incident occurred due to the inefficiency of the administration, which is more "inclined towards serving Chandrababu Naidu than Lord Venkateswara".
"Chandrababu Naidu always gives priority to publicity and self-boasting and such an incident was seen during Godavari pushkarams, which claimed over 30 lives due to his publicity craze," he said, referring to a previous stampede incident on the banks of Godavari river in Rajamundry during erstwhile TDP regime between 2014 and 2019.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila held Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the official custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati, responsible for the stampede and called for an immediate probe into the incident.
She demanded the government come to the rescue of the bereaved family members.
Meanwhile, APCC vice president Kolanukonda Sivaji demanded the immediate resignation of TTD chairman B R Naidu, and sought Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia to the family members of the deceased persons. One member each of the affected families should be given a job in TTD, he demanded.
A CPM leader said it is a known fact that lakhs of people descend on the temple around this time of the year and claimed that there were no advance arrangements.
"Everyday they (TTD) were discussing and it looked like something was being done, but by the time devotees came, it happened like this," said the CPM leader.
According to the Left leader, Vaikunta Ekadasi was not a new thing and there were also instances when devotees rushed and jostled but such a situation never occurred.
"The government is completely responsible for this. Due to the government's irresponsibility and the failure of the district administration this situation has arisen," he charged.
Meanwhile, the TTD claimed that the planning and "everything" was done correctly for the event "but a DSP opening a gate" and not taking the necessary precautions led to this incident.
"We would not know unless a detailed enquiry is done," said TTD EO J Syamala Rao.
Of the injured, 20 devotees were discharged until now. They were admitted in Ruia and SVIMS (Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences) hospitals, he said.
A doctor attending to the patients said two persons suffered bone fractures but are stable.
"Rest all, due to the crushing effect of the stampede (on their chests) have pain in the muscles and no other serious injuries. Many will get discharged by evening. But two to three people should be in hospital observation for another two to three days," the doctor added.
Following the stampede, a group of Andhra Pradesh ministers called on the relatives of the deceased devotees.
"The group of ministers is comforting the families of the deceased persons who died in the Tirupati stampede at Ruia (hospital) mortuary. They are taking information about the incident," said an official release.
The ministers included A Satya Prasad, Vangalapudi Anitha, A Ramnarayan Reddy, N Ramanaidu, K Pathasarathi and others.
The government is making arrangements to shift the bodies of the deceased persons to their hometowns.
- 9 Jan 2025 1:40 PM IST
MK Stalin announces financial assistance for Tamil Nadu victim
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin announces consolation and financial assistance of ₹2 lakhs to the family of a person from Salem district who died in a stampede at the Tirumala Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.
- 9 Jan 2025 1:39 PM IST
Two FIRs lodged by family members of victims
The Tirupati East Police have registered two separate FIRs following the deaths of multiple devotees during the Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrations in the temple town.
- 9 Jan 2025 1:39 PM IST
'For five minutes we thought all of us were were dead': Stampede survivor
Survivors of the deadly stampede at Tirupati that left six dead have recounted the horror, with complaints ranging from long waiting hours to get tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam to sudden opening of the gates that 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.
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.
- 9 Jan 2025 12:12 PM IST
Former Endowments minister blames Naidu govt for tragedy
The stampede in TTD is the fault of the state government. Even though they knew that lakhs of people would come for Mukkoti Ekadashi, they neglected the arrangements. The government has completely failed. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray to God for the recovery of the injured: Velampalli Srinivasa Rao
